The Stolen Heir
by Sui94
Summary: The sequel to Horizon.  I don't want to give anything away in the summary just in case you haven't read the first one.  Rated M for a reason, gay lemons.  This story is a lot better than the prequel, so please give it a shot.
1. Prologue: Dreams of the Missing Brother

**A/N: Well, the sequel to Horizon has finally been started. Here's the Prologue but don't expect Chapter 1 for a while. I have a lot of other stories to get further along before I can continue writing this because I don't want to be overloaded. I promise to upload the next chapter once I finally start getting further along in my other stories. Please review ^^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson franchise. if i did, my own characters would be in the story. **

Hello, my name is Ryan Pavid, for those of you who don't already know me. The story picks up exactly where the epilogue of Horizon left off, like what happens right after Poseidon says that Triton has been stolen. Well…here you go.

…...

I was in shock, and so was everyone else at the table. We didn't think that a god could be kidnapped; especially the immortal son of one of the Big Three, but then again, anything was possible in this world.

Zeus stomped his foot into the ground, causing us all to flinch. "Wait, you're saying that Triton has been stolen?" The agitation in his voice was astounding.

My father nodded, a tear sliding down his face. "Yes. He was taken from his room yesterday. That was when I messaged you and said that we needed to talk in private. I'm still in shock that Mimious was able to infiltrate my kingdom without me knowing it."

Zeus placed his hand on my father's shoulder in an attempt to soothe him. "Calm down brother, everything shall be alright. We know where they have taken Triton and we can mount a full scale attack on Mount Othrys."

Poseidon shook his head, his short dark hair moving slightly atop his head. "But we cannot enter Mount Othrys. I have already tried to enter that mountain, but I could not. It seems that Kronus's henchmen have found a way to prevent gods from entering."

Again, Zeus stomped his foot into the ground, but this time he created a small dent. "Damn, this is turning out to be more troublesome than I would have hoped it be. Maybe we should try to use a sneakier approach. Perhaps Hades can sneak into the shadows of the mountain and break the barrier that prevents us from entering."

Poseidon just kept shaking his head. "I doubt that would work. He has to travel through the shadows outside the barrier get to the shadows inside the barrier." His face became even more somber than it was before. "What if we can't save him in time?"

I took a step towards my father, daring myself to intervene in this conversation. "Um, perhaps we have another way to defeat him. If we just wait a couple of days and form a plan, maybe we can find a way to…" I felt a hard smack come across my face and I fell hard against the cement floor of the dining pavilion.

Zeus lowered his right arm and folded of them both across his chest. "We don't have time to listen to this stupid child's fantasies. We have to help you find your son before it's too late." Zeus' face was the last thing I saw and his hand was the last thing I felt before I passed out.

…...

I knew I must have been dreaming, because I was back at the dreadfully eerie Mount Othrys. The green fire torches lit the dark area where I was. I began down the dank corridor until I arrived in a large outdoor courtyard. I hid behind a column when I started hearing voices. I looked around and saw Brent and David sitting, along with Mimious with another teen hovering in air, which I assumed to be Triton. He looked like a merman, only with two fish tails instead of one. His green skin made him look sickly, but his face proved that he was perfectly fine. He had black hair, similar to mine, but slightly darker.

He slammed his tails into some invisible force field. "Let me out of here. Do you know who I am? I am Triton, heir to the undersea kingdom of Poseidon. You cannot do this to me." His voice was demanding, but sounded like a whiney child more than an all-powerful god.

Brent stood up; a slightly creepy smile dawned on his pale face. "Of course we know who you are. That's the main reason as to why we kidnapped you." He looked over at the golden sarcophagus lying in the center of the open area. "I think it's time we start the sacrifice to Kronus." He walked over and slowly pushed the top of the glimmering coffin off, revealing a hefty amount golden dust layering the bottom of it. "Now, bring the god over to me. We must place him in the coffin and see if he is powerful enough to revive Kronus." He reached his hand up into his own hair and began scratching at his head.

Mimious moved his hands and Triton seemed to move in the same direction. The trapped teen was now hovering above the coffin, shivering slightly as he looked down into it. The dust began to rise up, but didn't even make it out of the coffin before falling back down.

"Brent, what's happening?" David was sitting down in the corner not looking over at the site. His hair had grown out longer but was still only about ear length. His leaf green eyes were full of unshed tears, like he was upset about what they were doing. Then I remembered that he was on our side, trying to help us devise a plan to beat Brent.

Brent began kicking the columns of the mountain. "It seems Triton alone is not enough to revive the Titan lord. We need more than just one child of the Big Three; we need three of them, one from each brother." Brent continued throwing his temper tantrum, throwing rocks at the columns and stomping around immaturely.

David just giggled at his friend's display of anger. He got up and hesitantly walked over to Brent, hugging him lightly and pecking his cheek. "Now Brent, calm down. We have plenty of time to find two more gods for the sacrifice, plus we have Mimious to help us. Let's plan another strategy for another day." David looked over at me again and mouthed the words _help me_. I nodded, forgetting the fact that he couldn't see me, and I tried to wake myself up before I witnessed what Brent was about to do to our only friend on the inside.

My eyes began to open and I saw Landon's face only inches above mine, his hands wrapped around my arms in a shaking position. "Ryan, oh thank gods you're alright." He leaned down and kissed my lips lovingly, a tear sliding down his cheek onto mine.

I sat up slowly, not wanting to make myself even dizzier than I already was. "Wha…where am I?" I rubbed my head and then my cheek where Zeus had smacked me. It still hurt, but not as bad as when it was first assaulted. I looked around and saw Zeus and Poseidon still talking a little ways away, and it seemed as though they were arguing.

Cathleen came over to me and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. "You're still at camp late the same night. You were out for about half an hour though after Zeus smacked you." She was crying just like Landon was. "You didn't have a pulse while you were out and we all thought you were dead." Her voice was shaky and when she released my neck, so were her hands. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort her, but it didn't seem to be working.

I stood up slowly as to not make myself lightheaded. I had a severe headache but I remembered my dream vividly. "Guys, I just had another dream about David and Brent."

Everyone looked at me with wide eyes, especially the two gods bickering in the background. "Wait, did you just say you dreamed about the two people who have Triton?" I nodded, making Zeus grin widely. "This is excellent. What did you see?"

I rubbed my head, still in pain. "I saw them on Mt. Othrys talking about sacrificing Triton, but when they attempted the sacrifice, it didn't work. They need two more sacrifices before they can bring back Kronus; one from each other Big Three god."

The two brothers looked at each other and smiled, laughing so loudly that the sky itself began shaking. "This is excellent Zeus, Triton shall be safe forever. Thank Hades for not having any godly children."

Zeus kept bellowing his obnoxious laugh, making my headache much worse. "Yes, now we can take our time to formulate a strategy that would be sure to work. We should ask Athena to help us with that." The two gods continued laughing before turning back to us with serious smiles. "You should all turn away and close your eyes. We're going back to Mt. Olympus for a meeting." We all complied, listening to the sound a god makes when turning into their godly form and ascending to Olympus.

I opened my eyes and smiled, knowing that the drama was over, for now. "Thank the gods that's over. I just want to go to bed and sleep this off." I went over and hugged Landon, not wanting to let him go.

Jennifer squealed like the fan girl she was. "I have an idea. How about I stay in the Zeus cabin with Cat tonight while Landon stays in the Poseidon cabin with you? I think he'd like to stay with you after the scare you gave him." She walked over to us and gave us a hug, leaning extra close to my ear. "Just don't do anything too raunchy while I'm not around." I blushed, knowing what she meant and inwardly smiled just thinking about the idea.

Cathleen just sighed and took Jen back to her cabin where they would gossip and do all the other things girls do at sleepovers. Arista came over and hugged us both, although mine was a little tighter than normal. "Just don't scare me like that again. You're one of my only good friends here, other than Landon, Cat, and my sister. If you died, I'd be heartbroken." She walked down to her cabin and went to bed, still a little shaken up.

I looked at Landon and smiled, wrapping my arms around him and nuzzling my head into his neck. "Let's go back to my cabin." I took a deep breath, savoring the scent of my lover standing right in front of me.

He copied me, only settling his head on top of mine. His hands crawled up my back and began tracing circles on it, sending a soothing sensation through my body. "Lets." He kissed my head softly and held my hand, bringing me back to my cabin and locking the door.

I sat down on my bed, lying back and taking a deep breath before opening my eyes seeing Landon lying down next to me with a loving smile. "I don't feel up for anything too sensual, so how about just a cuddle session for tonight. Maybe in the morning I'll be feeling more in the mood." I laughed, taking off my clothes so that I was in nothing but my boxers.

Landon copied me, pulling the sheets back and over us once we were on the bed. He held me close, his body warming me up in the cold winter night. I felt his hands begin tracing more shapes on my exposed back, and once again, those hands began to calm me down.

I leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips, using my fingers to trace circles on his chest. Our kiss started out very loving, just us lying next to each other, trying to comfort one another. Then, it started heating up. His tongue started licking against my teeth and lower lip, and I allowed him to start slowly tasting my cavern. It began gliding effortlessly over my teeth and gums, just like he had done over thousands of times before, but then it started poking at my tongue, rousing it out of it's slumber.

I started poking back, eventually leading to a dominance fight inside my mouth. Landon won, which didn't surprise me. He began ravaging my mouth with much more vigor than before.

I rolled on top of him and kept the kiss going, grinding our bodies together in an attempt to deepen it. I could feel his lower member getting aroused, so I stopped the grinding when I felt him completely erect under his underwear and smiled down at him. "No sex tonight, I'm not in the mood."

He looked back at me like _WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!_, but he just smiled and hugged me tightly. "I know, so let's go to bed before I don't follow that rule." He snuggled up next to me and we fell asleep, ready for whatever was about to happen to us.


	2. Chapter 1: Reunions

**A/N: I am so sorry this took so late, but my school work has been piled up for the past month. But, good news-ish, I've been on a roll with this story for a few days now and I wrote the whole thing in about 3 days, so the next chapter HOPEFULLY will be up soon, as long as I have some free time to write it. About my other stories, sorry to say, but those haven't been going so well. I hope to update them soon, but from now on, no more promises. Sorry again :/**

It was December 24, the day before Christmas, and the day that some of our friends were coming back to camp for a visit before the holiday season was over. They wouldn't be arriving until later today, so that left the entire morning for us to prepare for their visit.

I was in New York City, buying Christmas presents for people and it looked beautiful. The entire city was enveloped in a sheet of perfectly white snow while it continued to fall from the sky. All the street lamps had garland wrapped around them and some buildings had large Christmas trees on the roofs fully furnished.

I only had two more people to buy presents for; Percy and Landon. Everyone else was already taken care of. I got Cat some Cds of some new artists, or at least new to us. Jeremy got a necromancy book and a few other odd things I knew he wanted. Shane got a new thermos for his skittle addiction. Jen got some things that I felt very uncomfortable buying, even for me. The twins got new targets for practicing with. Heather got Cds, same as Cat. Last but not least, Annabeth got a miniature building set. I had Landon driving me all over the city in a van so that I could store all the presents I bought.

"Ryan, don't you think you're going a little overboard with the presents. I mean gods, do you think they'll buy you this many things?" Landon was getting a little irritated, probably because I've had him shopping with me for over five hours.

"It doesn't matter if they give me this many things. I want my friends to be happy on Christmas, especially since most of us don't have an actual family to go home for the holidays to." I said, piling the rest of my bags into the back of the van. "Besides, we're almost done. Only two more people to buy for." I smiled and pecked his cheek.

He smiled his perfectly perfect smile and rested his head on mine. "Alright, but you promise?" His voice held some fear that I might say no.

I laughed at his fear, nuzzling my head up into his. "I promise love. Only you and Percy left." I hugged his torso tightly before letting go, "You stay here. I don't want you to see what I get you."

"Awe, you mean I get to sit here and relax while you go buy me stuff." His sky blue eyes as bright as his smile.

I glared at him and lightly slammed my fists into his chest. "Oh shut up you. You didn't mind getting out of camp for a few hours, away from Jen." I shivered at the thought of my half sister constantly following us around like a lost puppy, waiting for us to show even the slightest sign of affection so she could get some sick kick off it.

He copied my shiver, nodding in agreement, "That may be, but I wish we got to spend some time together without having to run around this gigantic city. We never get to do that anymore with her around and I figured that since she's not here, we could enjoy ourselves."

I looked up at him and smiled, nuzzling my head in to his chest this time. "I miss it too, but let me finish my shopping first, then we'll have at least a few hours before everyone gets to camp. It is only noon." I started walking away from him with a smile on my face. "See you in about an hour."

…...

The department store I was in suddenly became mobbed with people, and they were not being polite. They kept shoving me around to get to the clothes rack or stepping on my feet in a mad rush to the shoe department for a last minute sale. I made it to the jewelry department and finally found something for Percy. I found a seashell necklace that would look good on him, and if he ever needed, he could use them in a fight. It was the perfect present for him. That only left Landon to buy for. _Now, what would be a good present to buy him? I want it to be special but he has to like it as well. _I looked over and saw an old woman gesturing for me to go over there. She was behind the jewelry counter that had a sign saying "Exotic Jewelry from Greece". Her smile was warm and the fact that the items were from Greece excited me. I walked over and started looking over her merchandise.

She smiled warmly at me while I looked. "Find anything you like deary?"

As soon as she finished her sentence, my eyes caught sight on a beautiful bracelet. "Actually, yes. Could you tell me about that bracelet?"

"Of course deary. It's a special keepsake found in a cave back from Greece. It's said to be a good luck charm from the gods." She held up the bracelet so I could get a better look. "These two gems here represent the gods. The diamond is Zeus and the sapphire is Poseidon. It shows that these two gods can get along without breaking the band." She placed the bracelet in my hand. "Do you want it dear?"

I held it in front of my face, staring at it in marvel. It was a beautiful band that was half-white and half-blue, with the diamond and the sapphire opposite each other in their respective colors. I set it down on the glass counter and pulled out my Lotus card. "How much do you want for it?"

The woman just laughed and placed it in a box. "No charge dear. You look like someone who could use some luck." She handed it to me and smiled, "Now, why don't you go to your lover. I bet he's worried."

I turned around and started walking. "Thanks, he probably…wait, I never…" but when I turned back around, she was gone and so was her stand. "Well, that was weird." I looked down at the box in my hand, wondering what exactly happened to me. "Oh well, I'd better go pay for necklace for Percy." I walked over to the cashier and bought his necklace, prepared for the response I usually got when I used my card, the shock and awe on people's faces.

I began walking back to the van thinking about that old woman and the necklace she gave me. _Why did she call me over specifically? Did she know I was a demigod? And another thing, how did she know I was gay? _My brain was on overload that I didn't even notice where I was going. I had made it back to the van without even realizing how I made it there.

Landon came out of the van and grabbed the bag out of my hand. "Is this it? I didn't think I would ever see you without more than two bags." He laughed as he placed the final bag in the back seat. "So, what did you get me?" He peaked in the bag but only saw the seashell necklace. "I don't think this is for me." His tone had a hint of sadness to it, but I didn't even pay attention to it that much.

I looked down at the gift box in my hand, still amazed at it. "Let's just go back to camp. I have to prepare the cabin for tomorrow morning." I got in the passenger's seat and buckled up, hiding the box in my pocket so that Landon wouldn't see it.

He got in the van and started it, looking over at me before he pulled out and headed back to camp.

…...

When we got back, Landon helped me unload the vehicle and secretly carry the gifts into my cabin so that nobody could sneak a peek at them. "This seems a little redundant. I mean, they're going to see them eventually. What's it matter if they see their presents early?"

"Because Lan, it's supposed to be a surprise. Haven't you ever had a Christmas morning before? Where you wake up excited to see what you got." He was starting to get on my nerves with this constant downing mood about the holidays. _Why can't he just be happy right now? I mean geez, isn't this supposed to be the happiest time of the year? _

The crunching of snow behind me stopped, meaning that he stopped moving. "No, I haven't Ryan. This will be my first Christmas away from my family. Away from my mother who every Christmas would get drunk and ruin the holidays for me. This'll be a bitter sweet Christmas for me. It's good that I'm away from my mom but I do miss the rest of my family. I miss the Christmas Eve dinner at my grandma's house, where she would make a grand assortment of every type of food imaginable. Granted the rest of my family never stopped my mom from getting drunk and occasionally beating me, but they still loved me and helped me get through the holidays."

There were a few wet spots in the snow in front of him, and when I looked up, I noticed he was crying. My arms dropped what they were carrying and instantly wrapped themselves around him. "I'm sorry Lan. I didn't mean to bring up any unwanted memories." I used my index finger to trace soothing circles on his back.

He kept sobbing while I held him, his pent up emotions finally seeing a way out. "I just don't know how to feel this Christmas. Am I supposed to be happy, upset, or just pretend this is normal?" We stayed like this for over half an hour, just letting him get out everything he needed to get out. Finally, he must have felt a little better, because he stopped crying and kissed my forehead. "Thank you Ryan. I didn't mean to be so bipolar about the holidays. They've just never held any good memories until this year." He smiled his smile again, making me feel better as well.

I tilted my head up and kissed his cheek, "Don't worry about it. I'm glad you got that off your chest. You can talk to me about anything you need to, remember that." I smiled and pushed my forehead into his, rubbing our noses together.

He bent down and picked up his bags, our heads still attached. "Come on; let's go inside so nobody sees their presents."

I picked up my bags, smiling brightly because he was happy again. "Yeah, that would be a shame." I opened the door, thanking my father that nobody was here yet. "Alright, set them down on my bed." I said as I placed mine there. "After that, you're free to do anything you want, my servant." A playful smile dawned on my face as I watched him do as I said.

He placed the gifts on my bed, stiffening when I said my servant. "Oh really? I can do whatever I want?" I nodded, knowing exactly where he was going. "Well then, I want you, right here." He sat on one of the spare beds and patted his lap. "Now, come here, my little servant."

I walked over to him extra slowly, taking off my royal blue jacket along the way. "Anything you desire, master." I plopped down on his lap, grinding into him as our lips connected. My arms wrapped themselves around his neck, our tongues clashing together in a mad, passionate frenzy.

His hands began to weasel their way under my shirt, caressing my abdomen with his fingertips. He made it up to my chest, gently taking a hold of one of my buds and twisting it. I moaned loudly into his lips while he snaked his other hand under my shirt and began torturing my other bud.

My brain started to shut down like it always did. It could only register so much pleasure before just letting my body take over.

After a few minutes of slow and pleasurable torture, he lifted my shirt up over my head, exposing my paled torso. "Marvelous, simply marvelous." He leaned forward and began slowly kissing between my pecs, sending a spike of pleasure down my spine. He moved to the right as steadily as he was kissing, eventually hovering over my erected bud. He took it in his mouth and began swirling his tongue around it, nibbling on it every few swirls as one of his hands still fiddled with the other bud.

I threw my head back and stifled a moan by biting my lower lip. My hands fished their way into his hair, entangling themselves deep in his locks, then down towards his back. I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and began tugging at it, trying to get it over his head. He allowed me to lift it off, giving me a few seconds of relief before the unbearable pleasure started.

Once his shirt was off, he pulled me down so that I was lying on top of him. Our bare skin brushed against each other, sending warmth running through my body on this cold winter day. I began to kiss his neck, lightly sucking on his skin and leaving a small bruise. Feeling his moan vibrate against his neck, I began kissing lower, stopping in the middle of his chest. "Paybacks a bitch, isn't it?" I began doing to him what he was doing to me only a few moments ago. Once one of his buds were in my mouth, I used my tongue so gently that I could feel the goose bumps form on him.

He threw his head back, similar to what I had done while he was busy with me, only since he was lying down, his stomach arched up and rubbed against mine. His hands ran along the entirety of my back, sending shivers throughout my body.

Once I thought he had suffered enough, I began kissing my way lower. I made it to his navel and instantly began the torturing again. I began swerving my tongue around it like it was a racetrack, eventually slipping down into the dip and ravaging it.

"Mmm, fuck yeah." His erection was stiff in his jeans, and I could feel it really well against my stomach.

I was just about to head farther down when I heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. "Well, isn't this a sight for sore eyes. As much as I'd love to let you finish this, don't you think you should at least greet your own half brother?" Percy was leaning up against the doorframe, a gigantic smile on his face and a blush as red as blood on his face.

I stood up quickly, stumbling to try to find my shirt. "Hold on Percy." I slipped on the first shirt I could find, which happened to be the shirt Landon was wearing before, and went over to hug him. "It's good to see you again."

He hugged me back, his face still extremely red. "Likewise, especially since that was a damn good way to greet you bi brother." His laughter was reassuring that I hadn't made him feel uncomfortable, but it sure as hell embarrassed me.

Landon stood up, finding my shirt and slipping it on. "You're here early. I thought you weren't supposed to show up until four. It's only two thirty." He went over and gave Percy a hug as well, sharing the love around.

He just shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, I had some spare time to kill and I thought it would be nice to spend some time with the two sexiest people at camp." His smile was bright, meaning he was in a good mood, but also playful, meaning he hadn't seen Annabeth in a long time and was _in the mood_. He had changed a little bit since I last saw him. His hair was a little longer than normal and his cheeks had reddened slightly, but that was probably due to the cold. He was also taller, as if he grew over four inches since the summer. He used to be as tall as me, five ten, but now he was at least as tall as Landon, who's six one.

I smiled, slapping his arm mockingly, "Flattery will get you nowhere Percy, except maybe a few hours alone with us." I sat back on the bed, now completely out of mood thanks to him.

"Great, I've been needing your advice oh wise one." He walked over to his bunk, setting his bag down on his bed. "I need your advice…on relationships."

My brow furrowed, "Why? Aren't you happy with Annabeth?"

"I am, don't get me wrong, but I just feel like something's missing lately. I mean, I'm pretty sure I love her, but recently, I haven't been so sure. A part of me is yearning for something…more." He rested his head in his right hand, sitting down on his bunk.

I sighed, knowing exactly where this conversation was going, even if he didn't. "Percy, your bisexuality is calling out to you. Something _is _missing, and it's a man. You're yearning for a man in your life. It's actually quite common for male demigods with godly fathers to want male interaction because they never got it as a kid. I think that's honestly a major factor as to why I figured out what I was at such a young age, especially back then, when homosexuality wasn't as widely accepted as it is today."

He took a deep breath, "But there isn't anyone I can turn too to help me with this. David's gone and Landon's with you, even though I would never go after him anyways. No offense, I just don't want to get killed."

"None taken." Landon smiled, holding my hand and kissing my cheek.

"Anyways," I began, "I went through the same thing back when Jacob died. I felt lost, as if a part of me was missing. You'll find someone Percy, and it may be sooner than you think." I watched as his frown slightly turned into a smile.

"Thanks Ry, you know exactly what to say." He got up and hugged me, sighing deeply. "Could you not tell anyone about this? I don't need the entire camp knowing about my problem right now, especially Annabeth. She would flip out if she knew what I did last summer." He chuckled, lying back on his bed and closing his eyes.

In a matter of minutes, I heard snoring. He had fallen asleep, drained from this missing feeling he had inside. "Sleep tight Percy. You need the rest before you have to deal with anyone.

…

It was now four o clock, and the last two people we were expecting had arrived; Annabeth and Rachel. We were all told to go to the Big House once they arrived.

"Does anyone know why we're all here?" Jennifer said, sitting down in the middle of Landon and myself.

Chiron stepped out of a room, waving a newspaper as he sat in his magical wheel chair. "Whoa, don't anyone use that bathroom for a good while." He wheeled himself over to the head of the table where his face became much more serious. "This meeting has been called because of the recent abduction of Triton, Poseidon's only godly child." Murmurs began once people found out the news. Overall, only eight people other than Chiron attended this meeting; Landon, Jennifer, Arista, Percy, Annabeth, Rachel, Cat, and me

Percy looked slightly paler than usual. "I…I knew something happened to Triton. I've been having weird dreams for the past week, showing me Triton just hovering over the golden sarcophagus that Luke used to resurrect Kronos."

Chiron looked at him with a look that said "That isn't unusual for you, Percy."

"So what are we to do about this? It's not like we can just go rescue Triton if he was able to be captured." Jen said, earning some nods from the rest of the group.

Rachel's eyes suddenly began glowing green. Her hands clenched the table, shaking it violently. Her mouth flung open, allowing the eerie green mist to flow out. A someone said in a raspy voice, similar to how a snake would talk.

_Five campers shall travel far from here_

_To answer the call by the end of the year_

_And save the god from a fate worse than death_

_A lover's decision shall be filled with new breath_

_The rescued god shall lament and praise_

_To the one who has halted Kronos to raise_

_But the sacrifice of a god who has felt forlorn _

_Shall give Kronos the ability to again be reborn_

She fell back in her chair, unconsciously lying in her chair as the rest of us sat there in shock. The mist began to disperse, allowing us all to finally see.

"Wha…what was that? What just happened?" Jen asked. Her chocolate brown face now much paler from the sudden scare.

"Rachel just had a prophecy and it was given to you, Jen." Annabeth looked around, acting the most composed out of all of us.

"It seems as though we've been given a timeline to save Triton, and we have less than a week to do it." Chiron turned to Jen. His face looked as if it had aged one hundred years in only a few minutes.

"That means that Jen gets to pick the rest of the group, considering it was her prophecy and she has to go." Annabeth said, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.

Jen suddenly became much more nervous. "Wait, I have to pick the group for the quest?" Chiron nodded to her. "Why me? Why do I have to do it?"

"Because it was your quest. You must pick the people to accompany you, but I would only pick from people at this table. I would not want to cause a ruckus in camp over something that might be prevented."

She looked as if she was about to vomit. "F…fine. I pick…" She began to think about who would make a good team. "Ryan and Percy, because it's their half brother too, Annabeth and Landon, only because I can't take their men without taking them as well."

The people whose names were not called nodded, looking slightly disappointed not to be going, but also a little relieved.

"Good, you're team has been chosen. You will leave the day after tomorrow. You all deserve some time to enjoy the holidays before risking your lives for the safety of the world." Chiron wheeled away from the table, a sniffling sound coming from him but we shrugged it off.

Annabeth rose, still a little shaky from the recent events. "Well, I guess we should all head to bed for now. Everyone have a good night." She kissed Percy goodnight and hugged everyone else before exiting the Big House, followed by Arista.

Cat came up to me, wearily looking at me before clasping her arms around my torso. "I almost lost you a few days ago. Don't go doing anything stupid while I won't be there keeping an eye on you."

My neck felt wet where her eyes were. "I won't, promise." I squeezed her tightly, trying to let her know I would be alright.

She started to weep softly against my neck, eventually finding enough comfort to separate from me and walk away, although she was still a little shaky.

I looked over at Landon. He was still sitting down in his chair, probably thinking about the upcoming quest and how dangerous it would be. "Hey, you going to be ok?" I asked softly.

He looked over at me and smiled, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I'm gonna sleep in my cabin tonight, seeing as how you don't want me sneaking a peek at my gift." Baring his trademark smile, he rose, kissed my lips, and left without another word.

Percy and Jen both looked at me, wondering the same thing I was: What exactly just happened?

"I think we should all head to bed before anything else happens today." Percy went over to the door and held it open for us.

We exited, none of us speaking to each other once we left the Big House. Once we were in the cabin, we all changed into our sleep wear and drifted into unconsciousness.

…

I had one dream that night, and let me tell you, it was a weird one. I was in the underworld, watching Hades pace back and forth in his chamber while Persephone sat in her throne.

"Why would you want to have a child Persephone? You know I'm not allowed to have any godly children because of the first Styx Pact."

She rose from her throne, seemingly gliding across the room over to her husband. "But Hades, don't you want an immortal child. One that could take over for you if you ever want to retire from this hellhole." She began rubbing her husband's chest with her index finger. Her pale skin made her seem like a radiant chandelier in the center of the room.

Hades sighed. "I would love to have a child, but the Pact forbids me, unless I want to allow my brothers to be able to visit me. The only people from my family allowed to come down here are Hermes and your mother, but your mom is only allowed down here while you're here."

"Yeah, about that…she's kind of already here." Persephone made the door open, revealing a woman with dark black hair similar to Persephone's. She seemed to fly across the room, standing right in front of Hades with an evil glare

"Hades, who cares about a damn treaty that was made over two centuries ago? My daughter wants to give you a child and you're going to deny her that. How can you do that?"

Hades seemed much less threatening in the face of his sister. "You don't understand the other situation going on." He went silent for a few seconds before he continuing. "Triton was stolen a week ago. They're trying to revive dad again, and they're close to doing it. They need one godly child from each of the Big Three, and they have Triton and if they need, they have Mimious, Zeus's child. They only need a godly child from me, but because of the pact years ago, I don't have any."

Demeter seemed to become more concerned as Hades spoke. Once he was done, Demeter just had a look of fear on her face. "Oh, I see." She turned to her daughter and said, "I don't think having a child right now would be such a good idea, but we'll continue talking about this after some sustenance. I need some ambrosia." She walked out of the room, leaving the couple to just stare awkwardly at each other.

After that, I had no more dreams for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 2: Christmas Day

**AN: I'm back, and I apologize for the wait. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait, because it took me a long time to get it right. Please review, it really does help me write faster, which might sound like a joke but it's true. **

I woke up in a cold sweat. My skin seemed to be made more out of goose bumps more than actual cells. I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and combing my fingers through my unruly hair in an attempt to put it in its place.

I looked over at Percy and Jen fast asleep in their beds, both wrapped tightly in ocean green blanket cocoons. Percy was snoring lightly. He must have been in a deep, relaxing sleep, but Jen seemed be in a more erratic sleep. Her breathing was very shallow and forced, almost as though she were being strangled and hanged with a noose. She began clutching at the collar of her shirt, pulling it away from her neck to the point where she was almost ripping it off.

"Stop! Go away! Get away from me!" She began flailing her arms around; smashing the lamp she had perched on her nightstand. Her sheets began to constrict her, almost as if invisible hands were moving up them closer to her neck.

I ran over in a panic, pulling her out of the bed and shaking her in an attempt to wake her. "Jen, you need to wake up. Someone's trying to kill you!"

Her eyes opened but they weren't their usual green shade. They were dark black, even the irises, with a tinge of silver around her lids. Her mouth opened, but it wasn't her voice that came out. _Foolish mortal. Do you honestly believe you can prevent the rise of the time lord? You must be more stupid then the gods if you believe that. He will rise again, and you will not be able to stop me from helping him. _

Jen fell to the ground, sleeping soundly again, although I wish I could say the same for me. My heart was racing and my palms had enough sweat on them to fill up a cup. Percy had woken up when Jen collapsed; his eyes full of worry. "What happened?"

"Jen was almost killed and someone seemed to be controlling her. They person said we would be stupid to try to prevent Kronos' revival and we wouldn't be able to stop them from helping it." I just looked back at Jen, still extremely worried for her. Her breathing had become very rhythmic again, meaning she was fast asleep.

Percy ran his hand through his hair, similar to how I had. "Well, should we put her back in her bed?"

I looked at it, imagining the sheets that seemed to try to strangle her. "I'd feel better if we put her in my bed." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I understood what he was asking. "Yes, the sheets are clean. I haven't gotten to do anything like _that_ in about a month. Now, come help me lift her." I walked over and grabbed her arms while he took her legs. We hoisted her up onto my bed and tucked her under the sheets, making sure they weren't trying to kill her again.

I walked over to the small dresser I had and pulled out some clean clothes. "I'm going to go clean up. Just…keep an eye on her until I get back and don't go snooping for gifts, because I hid them all." That said, I left the cabin and went over to the special bathroom area made just for the Zeus and Poseidon cabins.

…...

It was a nice washroom. It had cloud white walls with dark blue trim and sea green curtains. The inside was humongous though. Each god had half on the building just to their kids, and the build itself was about the size of a football field. Then, the bathrooms were separated into a boys and a girls section, giving me about one quarter of a football field of bathroom all to myself, except when Percy was here, but we usually went in shifts.

I walked over to the Poseidon half, undressing as I made my way into the male's section. The walk-in shower sat in the center of the room, with two toilets in separate stalls on the right wall and a bathtub against the opposite one. The entire room was a dark ocean blue with sea green trim and ocean life painted along the walls which seemed to be swimming and floating across them.

I took a deep sniff, enjoying the natural scent of the ocean that filled the entire room. I stepped into the shower, the warm water flowing down my body, easing my nerves. The glass walls around me soon became steam-covered. _Now, I need to figure out how to give everyone their presents. It has to be amazing, and remind everyone of a normal Christmas dinner. _

I began racking my brain for something, unable to think of anything spectacular. Suddenly, I came up with a brilliant idea. _What if I used the Big House to hold a traditional Christmas Day dinner? I could have Shane help me get all the food ready. This could be an amazing idea if I get permission. _That was it; I had my idea, and I was going for it. I cleaned up as quickly as I possibly could and ran off to find Chiron.

…...

Upon arriving to the Big House, I saw Chiron exiting; a quiver of arrows on his back and his bow draped across his chest. "Chiron, could I have a word with you?" I yelled, running up to him just to make sure he saw me.

He turned and waved, smiling his oddly white smile for being over three thousand years old. "Oh, hello Ryan. What bring you up here this early in the morning? I assumed you would be sleeping in due to this being your last day at camp."

"Well, I woke up early and I decided to enjoy the morning." I smiled, shaking my head dry of the remnants of water from my shower. "Anyways, could I ask you a favor?"

His smile didn't falter, but his right eyebrow rose slightly. "You may ask, but I'm not entirely sure that I could promise you that I can grant this favor."

My nerves began to shrink, so it was now or never. "Could I use the Big House to host a small dinner for my friends? As you said, this is our last day at camp."

He tilted his head, stroking his beard in a thinking manner. "Why don't you come inside? It is a bit…chilly outside." He nudged his head downward.

I looked down, seeing that it was indeed cold outside. I wrapped my arms in front of my chest and blushed, completely embarrassed. "Thanks Chiron." I ran passed him into the warmth of the house, sitting down in a chair and curling up in the fetal position.

Chiron closed the door after he entered, eyeing me humorously. "That cold Ryan?" I nodded and he laughed, making me blush. He walked over to me, kneeling in front of me so that he was eye level with me. "Now, about your question… I shall consider it. Give a few minutes to converse with Mr. D to make sure that he wouldn't mind it, but I do not see why he would." He walked in the back, leaving me alone.

I began looking around; noticing all the decorations that either Chiron or Mr. D had hung up. There was a giant Christmas tree in the middle of the living room fully furnished with red and white garland, multi-color lights faded on and off every two second, and bulbs, both blue and silver, meticulously placed in just the right spot so that the tree looked perfect. There were two stockings hung over the fireplace. One was green with a picture of a wine bottle on it. Obviously that one belonged to Mr. D. The other one was a much older looking one with a bow and arrow on it. I assumed it belonged to Chiron; him being the only other humanoid thing living in this house.

There was a new feature in the living room that I had not noticed before. It was a jaguar head. It looked real, but I hadn't known either Dionysius or Chiron to be hunters. As I approached, it's eyes seemed to be following me. Hesitantly, I reached my hand out to touch it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Chiron was standing in the doorway, a sarcastic smile upon his face. "That's Seymour; my present from Mr. D. He found it in a pile of garbage and said, 'How could someone throw away such a magnificent creature?', so he gave him to me after the head received a…special cleaning." He walked over to the chairs, waiting for me to come back.

As I turned back, I heard a loud roar from behind me. I jumped, turning around to see what had made the noise. Seymour was turned towards me; his eyes showing his discontent. He bared his fangs at me before roaring again, even louder this time.

"Just throw him a sausage from the table next to you. That should shut him up."

I slowly grabbed a sausage and threw it to the wildcat head. He caught it in his mouth and chomped away on it happily, softly purring as he ate it.

I sighed, my nerves being shaken enough for one day. "Anyways, Chiron, what did Mr. D say about the party?" I sat down in the chair, finally warmed up enough to relax.

He smiled and nodded his head. "He says that since he will be up on Olympus having dinner with his family, you are permitted to have a get-together here." He trotted over to the door, holding it open for me. "If I were you, I'd start getting ready."

"Thanks Chiron." I gave him a rushed hug, and ran off to go find Shane, the next person I would need to persuade.

…...

"Absolutely not." Shane was in the middle of _Honing your skills _class at camp, and he was just finishing a giant sculpture of his father, made entirely out of skittles. "That's not how father's crown looks." He stood up on the table, taking his thermos and switching the yellow and blue skittles with purple, red, and green ones so it looked like a crown of grapes. "There, all done." He turned to me, his small frame in complete contrast with my own. "So, what did you need Ryan?"

Shane was about 5ft. 6 with short, dirty blonde hair and bright violet eyes that always seemed bloodshot. He always seemed like a squirrel on caffeine, which was amusing to watch after he had well over a thermos load of skittle. He had a somewhat rounded face, that being due to his father being Dionysus, but it looked really well on him. He had an athletic build, similar to my own, but slightly less toned.

I walked up to him, acting extremely nonchalant to make him laugh. "Merry Christmas Shane. I have a proposition for you."

He raised his eyebrow, "What kind of proposition?"

I cleared my throat before continuing, "I already got permission from Chiron and your dad. What would you say if I told you we were having an actual Christmas Day dinner in the big house with all our friends. I have things to give you all, but I need an excuse to give you the presents and someone who can make the food, so I thought of you."

Shane looked at me, grabbed my palm, checked my forehead, and even checked his own forehead. "Well, you're not sick, and I'm not using my powers on you, at least I hope I'm not. You must have actually gone insane. How did you even manage to clear it with my father?"

"He's off to Olympus for the day with the other gods. More importantly, Why do you think I'm insane?" I pouted, folding my arms in front of my chest.

Shane's laugh reminded me of a mad scientist on crack. "Because you actually asked to use the Big House and it worked. I never thought that would happen." He held up his hand, asking me to high-five him. I did, and laughed while doing it.

"Anyways, does that mean you'll help me with the food?"

He did the exact same thing Chiron did. He placed his hand to his chin slowly pinched his thumb and index finger together. "Well, since you managed to get permission, which I still think you're more insane that I could ever make you for even asking, I guess I could take care of the food, if you'd like?" He smiled an elfish smile and turned around to continue looking at his sculpture. "It still looks like something's missing." He snapped his fingers, "Got it. He needs a bottle of wine in his hand."

I flung my arms around him, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you so much Shane! This is going to be amazing. Now I just need to go prepare the house." I ran off back to my cabin, prepared to make this the best Christmas ever.

…...

I was just bringing the last present over when people started to arrive. Before I even began bring the gifts over, I had found everyone and told them to be at the Big House by 6:00 PM for dinner. Some had small things wrapped and some didn't, which I expected anyways. "Hold on everyone, I'll be right there." I ran into the house, slipping Landon's gift into my pocket for later and setting the rest under the tree. "Merry Christmas everyone."

Amber was at the head of the line. She gave me a hug and handed me a giant vase filled with different color roses. "Merry Christmas Darlin." I had never heard her southern accent before, considering she did her best to hide it, but it suited her.

The twins were next. They brought over their guitar. "It's for music later. We can't have Christmas Day without cheesy music." Arista's hug lasted a little longer than her sister's did. "Remember what you promised me. You wouldn't do anything reckless to make me lose you."

"I remember."

Jeremy was next, still in all black, even on Christmas. "Merry Christmas Ry." He didn't hug me, he just shook my hand. I always knew that Hades children never liked to show emotion, but still.

Jen and Heather came up together, both holding something behind their backs. "Merry Christmas little bro." Jen smiled and handed me a box, neatly wrapped in green wrapping paper. "Don't open it until you're back in the cabin." She winked, making me extremely nervous.

Heather didn't say anything at first. She just smiled and set a red box on top of my green one. "This one's for Landon. By the way, most of this was Jen's idea. I just gave her part of the idea so that you wouldn't get too embarrassed." She nodded and walked away. Ok, now I was on the verge of shaking.

Percy and Annabeth arrived together, like expected. They both hugged me, seeing that I was exhausted and laughed at me. "Was this really worth it Ryan?" asked Annabeth.

"Yes, because this might be someone's last Christmas, so I want it to be special." I stuck my tongue out at her, acting extremely immature.

Percy laughed and pushed my tongue back into my mouth. "Oh, save that thing for Landon. Don't waste it on her." He leaned over and pecked her cheek, showing most of the emotions I was expecting except one; longing.

She blushed and lightly punched him in the gut. "Shut up seaweed brains." With that, they walked over and took their seat at the table.

Cat was last at the door. "Merry Christmas Ryan." She handed me a medium sized box, wrapped with wrapping paper that had snowmen on it. "This is for you and Landon. I hope you two enjoy it." She walked over, sitting across the table from Annabeth and next to Amber.

I looked around the dark hillside, but I couldn't see Landon anywhere. I turned to Cat, "Where's Landon?"

She froze slightly, but went back to normal so quickly that I assumed it was due to a cold draft. "He's coming. Just finishing up something." She smiled reassuringly, making me feel better.

Walking over, I sat down in my chair and marveled over the bounty of food Shane made. He thought of everything, literally. There was a ham the size of mini television, fixed with a honey glaze sauce and four slices of pineapple on it. A turkey the same size stuffed with stuffing and browned to perfection. A seafood platter with shrimp of any and every kind imaginable, a seemingly endless amount of crab legs marinated in garlic butter, and lobster tails ready to be cracked. A gigantic bowl of mashed potatoes that I don't think could be eaten if we had five more people. A vegetable platter with every vegetable on it, seasoned to perfection. Last but not least, he had four different types of pies, including apple, chocolate, cranberry, and skittle pie. (Yes, skittle pie. A piecrust filled with skittles and fruit jam, topped with whip cream.)

My mouth was drooling as soon as I saw all the food. Shane kept me out of the dining area after I set the table earlier, saying, "I can't have you seeing all the food I'm going to make. I want it to be a surprise." It was well worth not going in there while he was busy if this was what he produced.

"Alright everyone let us give thanks." I rose, extending out my arms. We all held hands, closed our eyes, and looked down. "Thank the gods for this bounty of food and for allowing us all to survive until this day so that we may spend it with our loved ones. Thank you to Shane for preparing the food, and thank you to whichever god or gods allowed us all to meet, because without them, this Christmas wouldn't have nearly as much meaning. To the gods!"

"To the gods!" Everyone said in unison.

The door opened when we finished and Landon looked over at us with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I'm late everyone." They all nodded and smiled, but I was somewhat upset he was late. He walked over and kissed my cheek, sitting down next to me and holding my hand. "Merry Christmas hon." He nuzzled his forehead into mine, and I was happy again.

"Merry Christmas." I kissed his lips. They felt softer than normal, and I enjoyed it. It might have been just a simple kiss, but it made this Christmas feel much better, especially considering how it started. I heard some people clear their throats, so I separated our lips and turned forward, ready to eat.

Dinner was amazing. We all laughed, ate, and enjoyed each other's company, even the random drink spits when someone said something either highly inappropriate or funny.

When we finished, the twins played all those cliché Christmas songs and I was embarrassed because I didn't know most of them. Landon laughed, admitting that my lack of knowledge was cute, especially since I was the one who planned it all. During one of the slower songs, he held out his hand, offering me to dance. "I'm not that good at dancing. I don't even know if the moves are the same. I haven't danced since about 1942." I laughed, slouching down further into my chair.

He still held his hand out. "I don't care Ryan. I want to dance with you." Taking my hand in his, he hoisted me up and into proper form. "Just follow my lead and don't worry, you'll do fine."

His smile encouraged me, and I knew I wouldn't be able to deny him, so I just went with it. He actually moved exceptionally well, which surprised me. We danced to the song "In Love on Christmas," which made my cheeks redder than the cranberry pie, but it was also immensely emotional for me. We normally never have time to do things this personal, this touching, so halfway during the song, I placed my head on his shoulder and just swayed back and forth. "I love you." I smiled, affectionately placing my lips gently on his neck.

"I love you too," he cooed, running his hand lightly up and down my back. A tear fell from my eye onto his skin, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me. "You ok?" He moved one of his hands up to my face, stroking his thumb along my cheek.

At first I couldn't speak. All my emotions seemed to come up to my throat and block the words from coming out. I nodded, tears slowly falling down my face. "I'm perfect now. I thought for a while that you were getting bored with me, and that that was why you just went back to your cabin last night. I can see now that I was wrong, and that feeling made me burst into tears of joy."

I heard someone clear their throat behind us, so I looked back and saw Amber smiling. "Look above you." I did and was grinning all over again. Amber had made a mistletoe spring from the roof of the house, right above Landon's heads and mine. "Well, go on. It's not like we haven't seen it happen before."

I blushed, but I didn't have any time to be embarrassed. Landon took my face in his hand and turned it towards him, kissing my lips, sending a feeling of such…I still can't even describe it. All I can tell you is that I felt as though we had just met again. This was our first kiss; so special and so magical that I never wanted it to end. Everyone clapped, and the mistletoe fell on top of us. I took it and placed it behind my ear.

After that, I started giving everyone their presents. They all enjoyed them immensely, especially Amber with her new dagger, and Jen's new "Dancing pole."

Landon started looking around, noticing that there were no more presents under the tree. I laughed, pulling the jewelry box out of my pocket. "Merry Christmas Lan."

He opened the box and froze his eyes full of shock. "This…this is Enosis, the bracelet of Zeus. Where did you get this?"

I looked at him, confused. "I found it while shopping. This old lady showed it to me and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was for you."

He stepped back, staring down at the bracelet in his hands. "Have you heard the story behind this bracelet and it's counterpart Gamos?" I shook my head, and Landon took a deep breath. "A few hundred years ago, Zeus and Poseidon almost went to war. Poseidon heard that Zeus was planning an invasion on his kingdom, saying that since he was king of the gods, he deserved to rule over all domains. Zeus heard that Poseidon wanted to overtake the sky, claiming he was done just being an underling to his brother. Their armies were all ready to be deployed and they would have fought if not for Aphrodite. She found out that it was Hades who was trying to destroy them both and take over Olympus, but she warned them before they fought, stopping the war. That little incident banished Hades from Olympus for another thousand years."

My jaw dropped. _Why had I never heard of this? _I wondered.

"And even though our fathers found out that what they heard was all false, they still held indifferent feelings towards each other. That's when Aphrodite came up with the idea of creating symbols to show their forgiveness. Those symbols are Enosis and Gamos. Enosis," he held up the bracelet, "was given to Zeus, symbolizing the reunion of his brotherhood with Poseidon. Gamos, a ring, was given to Poseidon to give for Amphitrite, to completely reunite both halves of the family. But, three hundred years ago, both the ring and the bracelet were lost, and neither Zeus nor Poseidon could find either one."

I looked down at the bracelet in his hands. "That's…amazing."

Landon nodded, "But there's more. About one hundred-fifty years ago, the bracelet and ring were found by two demigods, one of Zeus and one of Poseidon. They ended up becoming a couple and even ended up married after only knowing each other for six months. The ring became the daughter of Poseidon's wedding band and the bracelet was the son of Zeus', because he for some reason didn't want a ring. They became the only demigod couple to marry and remain married for over twenty years, the marriage only ending when they both died. However, when they died, Enosis and Gamos disappeared again. They haven't been seen since, until today."

I took the box out of his hand, removing the bracelet and placing it around his wrist. "Then it must be luck that I found it. For another child of Zeus to be wearing this bracelet proves it." I looked down, a thought popping into my head. "I wonder where Gamos is."

Landon shook his head, "I don't know, but I have a feeling it'll show itself soon. Once one is found, the other normally reveals itself within a week. When did you find this again?"

"Yesterday, while we were shopping."

"Then I expect someone close to you to find Gamos within the next six days. Just give it time Ryan; I'm sure we'll find it." He said this so calmly, it made me relax, even though I wasn't nervous.

The rest of the group looked at us. They must have been in just as much awe as I was. "Landon, how do you know that story? Even I don't know any of that." Annabeth looked highly suspicious of him.

"It was while I was traveling alone, even if it was only for about a week. I found an old school in Springfield that I stayed in for a few days, and one day while exploring it, I found a secret room. It had old paper dated from 1890, but the paper said it came from New York, so I thought it was odd. This exact story was written on the paper, but I left it back in the school because I thought there must have been a reason why it was hidden there."

Annabeth had taken some notes while he told us this, "The first stop we'll make on this quest is to Springfield to locate this story. I want to find this place for myself."

Everyone nodded except Landon, "I don't want to return to that place. It freaked me out and I don't ever want to be that close to my mother ever again." He shuttered and held his left shoulder.

I took his hands in mine. "You won't close to your mother, but we do need to go there. It might give us some clues as to when and where Gamos will appear."

He sighed, lifting up our hands and kissing mine. "Alright, but only because you'll be with me."

"Then it's settled, tomorrow, we head off to Springfield to locate this long lost story." Said Annabeth, and everyone nodded.

**EN: Again, I apologize if this wasn't up to your standards. A treat for you in the next chapter; it's a lemon. I would have added to the end of this chapter, but I liked where this chapter went so I'm just making the next chapter straight smut ;D. **


	4. Chapter 3: My Many Presents

**A/N: Happy belated Holidays to all my readers! Sorry this wasn't out on Christmas like I planned it, but I got a little side-tracked. I got a new laptop for Christmas, but it didn't have a writing program on it, which sucked. But luckily, my grandma had a spare disc with my writing program on it so I installed it and finished this chapter as soon as I could. Hopefully with this laptop, chapters will get finished sooner, since I wont need to stay home and hope my computer will work ^^. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Warning, this contains a lemon, and if said lemon isn't up to my usual standards, please let me know for next time. **

After we decided that visiting this old school was important, I decided it was time to start sending everyone home. "Bye everyone. I'll see you all tomorrow before I leave, right?" They all nodded and waved goodbye, shuffling out of the house as quickly as they could. The only people left were Shane, Landon, and I.

"You guys head back to your cabin. I'll take care of the cleaning." Shane grabbed a handful of skittles from his new thermos, munching on them as he walked over to the now empty table.

"Are you sure? I can help if you want."

He shook his head. "Go enjoy one night alone before this quest begins. Consider this my gift to you." He smiled, picking up some plates and bringing them to the kitchen.

Landon smiled, leaning his head against mine. "Thanks Shane. I owe you one."

"I know, and I do plan on collecting, but only after I know you two are safely back from your quest." he yelled, his mad laugh ringing through the house. "Just go have your fun."

Landon took my hand in his and grabbed the presents in his other. "Come on, we've got some presents of our own to unwrap, among other things." He leaned down and lightly nibbled on my neck.

I moaned softly, causing Shane to laugh. "See? I told you to go. I don't need you getting down and dirty on my now clean table." He shoed us away, "Go on, scat."

"Have I ever told you how awesome you are Shane?" I smiled, opening the door.

"Not nearly enough." he said as we left, his maniac laugh echoing through the valley.

…...

Before I even had a chance to open the door, Landon was already kissing me, shoving his tongue into my mouth. It began lightly moving around, as if it had never been in there before. I took his face with one of my hands while the other one opened the door.

He pushed me inside, kicking the door closed and taking off his jacket. "I forget, how long has it been? One week? Two?"

"I'm not sure, but it's well overdue." I reached down, cupping his growing erection and roughly stroking it through his jeans.

"Try four months." We looked back and saw Percy lying on his bed, hands behind his head, completely relaxed. "Hi there." he said, winking at us.

I quickly retracted my hand, blushing brightly. "Percy! I, uh, didn't know you'd be here, now." I grabbed the presents out of Landon's hand, "We were just, um, getting ready to open our presents. We never got a chance to at the party."

He leaned up, laughing heartily, "Dude, it's ok to admit you were going to fuck. I don't care. I just wanted to see the look on your face when you saw I was here."

"It was priceless if I do say so myself." Annabeth stood up. She had been lying on the opposite side of Percy's bed, the side I couldn't see.

Now I was really red. I could feel all the blood rushing through my face, almost passing out. "Oh, hello Annabeth. H…how long have you been there?" I took a deep gulp; a lump settled itself deep in my throat.

"I've been here the entire time." She laughed, lying down next to Percy.

Landon leaned against the wall, taking my hand. "Alright, could you please get out now? We have some much needed unwrapping to do." he laughed, shooing them to the door.

Annabeth looked down, hugging Percy tightly, "I only go if he goes."

"I was talking to him too. Go to the Athena cabin. I'm sure they won't mind. Jen is with Heather for the night, so now it's your turn." Landon leaned down and began kissing my neck, waiting patiently for them to leave. I moaned loudly, my embarrassment going away.

"Awe, come on Lan, do you honestly mind if I'm here?" Percy asked, sitting up and holding Annabeth's hand.

"No," he said in-between biting my neck, "I don't really mind you here, only because I would enjoy it, but I don't want her in here. Sorry, but I don't do women seeing me naked." He wormed his right hand under my shirt, lightly touching my warm skin with his cool hands.

Percy just sighed. "Alright, we'll leave, but only because you two have earned this, especially after that kick-ass dinner." He opened the door, "Bye," and with that, they left us alone.

Landon stopped kissing my neck for a second. "Why don't you look at your bed?"

I did and gasped, not noticing it when we first walked in. There were red and green flower petals scattered all over it. A candle rested on the bedside table, flickering brightly in the darkness of the cabin. There was something resting near the candle; a yellow condom with a bottle of tropical lube next to it.

"Sticking with our color-coded condoms and fruit-scented lube I see."

He smiled, leaning in close to my ear, "Isn't it a tradition now?"

My breathing hitched, "I guess so." I took his hand and slid it down my stomach, down to my abdomen where he started roughly feeling all over it. "I just don't want to wait much longer to use it."

He rested his head on my neck again, lightly kissing it. His warm lips sent thrills through my entire body. "Would you like me to stop using them? I could just use the boring regular ones." He sounded strained, as if he were severely uncomfortable.

"No, I quite enjoy our little game of colors and scents. Although," I pushed him down on the bed, "maybe one of these days, we won't use a condom."

His eyes widened and a giant grin appeared on his face. "Why not try it tonight?

I laughed, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "Because, I'm not physically ready for that Landon. We haven't had sex in about a month, give or take a few days. Maybe next time, if we get some privacy like we have tonight."

He smiled, leaning up and grabbing the gifts from Jen and Heather. "We never got to open our presents. On the count of three, we open them." I nodded, getting a good hold of my gift. "One…two…three." We tore open the wrapping paper and opened the box. There were only three things inside my box; half a heart-shaped necklace, a die, and a note.

I took the note out and read it:

_Dear Ryan, _

_I would like to thank you for allowing me the pleasure of spying on you and Lan, even if you don't know when I do it. Here are two tokens of my appreciation. The first is half a locket. Lan has the other half in his box. It's meant to show that even if you're apart from one-another, you'll always carry a piece of the other's heart with you. Also, the inside has a little something written in it as well. This part of the gift came from Heather, because she thought that just giving you the other part would be too…raunchy. You're other gift is well, something I think you'll enjoy a little more than the necklace. If you think it's an ordinary die, you're wrong. It's a set of 'fun' dice. I figured it could add a little spice to your love life, even though you hardly need it from what I've seen ;). Anyways, those are the first half of my present. The second half is that I won't spy on you. At least, not tonight anyways. Have some fun for me while I'm not there and enjoy. Love always, Jennifer Nelson. _

I set the note down. "That was sweet of her, in some weird way." I opened my half of the locket. _A heart can always find it's missing half if it just calls out for it. _It was a pretty corny saying, but it still made me smile, so I put it on.

Lan looked over and smiled, but his half of the necklace on. "You know, Jen isn't _that _bad. Maybe we'll let her spy on us with our permission, maybe." He laughed and took out his half of the dice. His was white with black writing while mine was black with white writing. "So, how do we use these things?"

I took the dice, placing them in the bedside drawer. "Let's not use these tonight. I want romance, not raunchy." I climbed on top of him, sitting on his waist and reaching for the last gift, the one from Cat. "How about we finish with these gifts." I set it on top of his chest.

He just looked up with his perfect grin. "You know, it would be easier to open if I could sit up."

"But I'm not going to let you sit up." I tore off the wrapping paper hastily. Underneath was a box. A plain white box that you get when you buy clothes from a department store.

Landon grabbed and opened it, revealing Cat's gift. She had gotten us two fairly large crystals, two bags filled with Drachma, a can of metal polish, and what looked like a can of hair spray. There was also another note underneath everything.

_Dear Boys, _

_Thank you for giving me the opportunity to know you both. I don't know what I would have done without either one of you. Here are just a few tokens of my appreciation. The crystals and Drachma are for Iris messaging, which for you two comes in handy. The metal polish is for your weapons. It'll make them look good as new. The hair spray is something I feel you both need. It's actually a can of monster repellent. It hides your demigod scent from monsters so they cant find you, meaning you'll be able to use a phone to call me every once and a while. Now, be careful on this quest and don't get yourselves killed. Oh, and Landon, about that thing we've been discussing, you'll know when the time's right. Well, have fun tonight, and please, don't be so loud. I could hear you from my cabin last time and it was extremely awkward. Toodles, Cat Vander_

I set the note down and kissed Landon on the lips. "What does she mean by 'you'll know when the time's right?' Are you hiding something from me?" I began grinding into his groin, knowing he couldn't resist me once I got him aroused.

He bit his bottom lip and pulled me closer to him, his lips connecting to my neck. "Now why would I be hiding something from you? I was just talking to her about the new ability we figured out last month and if I should use it on the quest."

I groaned softly as his lips traced up and down my neck. "Ah, _that_ ability. Then why didn't she just say that?"

He shrugged, his lips never leaving my neck. "I don't know. Maybe she doesn't think you knew about it or she might be thinking I'll use it tonight, on you." His hands slowly moved along my sides and rested at the base of my shirt. He began tugging at it, sliding it up ever so slowly.

I wiggled so he could move it up easier. "But how could you using levitation be…oh, I get it. No offense, but I don't want to rejoin the mile high club again." My shirt was raised so that only my midriff was exposed. He laughed and we began to rise. I screamed and clung onto him for dear life. "You ass. Didn't I just tell you not to do this?"

He extended his arms and stretched legs, making me feel like I was falling. "I'm sorry. I thought you said to levitate." He began to descend back onto my bed, my flailing decreasing with every inch.

When we finally landed, his face was proud, so I decided to really start to torture him. I began roughly grinding myself into him, watching his face contort to discomfort. "You're such a tease. And you called me the ass." He grabbed my shirt again, this time pulling it right off my body.

I sat up, my exposed flesh out of his reach. "You want me? Come get me." I rolled off him and onto the bed, resting on my back.

As soon as he was free, he began his ravishing. He was over my in an instant, his lips leaving burning warmth everywhere they touched. He trailed down my neck and over my bare chest. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this." He reached and took off his own shirt before he continued.

I pulled him close to me, our bare skin so hot when they collided I though we would create a fire. His hands began lightly feeling up and down my sides, causing me to shiver. I scratched my fingers up his back, nuzzling them deep within his thick locks. He kissed down my neck and back to my chest, his tongue licking up and down between my pecs.

I moaned lowly, wishing to reach down and grab his still clothed ass. Oh how I wanted to move this faster than it was going. My erection was making me extremely uncomfortable in my jeans, but I couldn't reach down and help myself because my wrists were pinned down by Landon's hands. I would have to wait for him to do for me.

He continued to kiss my chest, slowly moving over to one of my buds and taking into his warm mouth. His tongue did what it always did; got me even hotter than I already was. I arched my body up into him, gripping the sheets tightly as I shuttered under him. "Mmm, don't stop." I thought I was going to rip the sheets my grip was so tight.

"Your wish is my command." He reached down and slid his hand underneath my pants, roughly grabbing my shaft and pumping it just as hard. Oh gods, here came the fun part. He really did know exactly how to work me. He even figured out a few tricks on my body that I didn't know. Like, when he's biting a bud and slowly pumping my shaft, I start so shake uncontrollably and I can't control my moaning. That was what caused Cat to be able to hear us that one night, and unfortunately for her, it was happening again.

I started shaking lightly, my one free hand reaching out in vain to find something to grasp onto other than the bed. I reached up, covering my mouth so that my moans and screams wouldn't be too loud, but it didn't really work. The sounds still came out really loud, so after a few minutes of mind-numbing pleasure, my hand fell and I just began to feel.

I felt him smile against my chest, and he continued his slow thrilling. After a few more minutes of slow pleasure, he stopped. "Do you give in?"

I nodded my head, "Oh gods yes. Just get to it already." Now having both my hands free, I pulled his head up to mine, locking our lips together so tightly, I didn't think they could be pulled apart.

He undid my jeans, sliding them down along with my underwear. I shivered at the cool air hitting my lower half. He did the same thing to himself, throwing both my pants and his to a barren corner of my cabin. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him on top of me. His warm skin burned my inner legs as he settled on top of me.

His fingers moved gently down my sides. "Grab the condom." His voice was strained, but full of lust. I did as I was commanded, ripping it open and putting it on him. He shivered as the condom slid down on his shaft.

I grabbed the lube, taking a quick sniff before I squeezed it on my hand. It was extremely cool on my hands, which was a relief after the heat I just worked up. Strongly taking his dick in my hand, I spread the lube on the condom.

There was still a little extra on my hands after I finished, so I reached down and rubbed the excess gel at my entrance. The numbing effects felt amazing, and I moaned slightly.

Landon just smirked as he watched me squirm in pleasure under him. He leaned down so that his lips were touching my ear. "You almost ready." His voice was soft and seductive, even lower than a whisper.

It sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn't do anything else except nod and brace myself for what was coming. I let my legs fall from around him so he could get a better angle. I felt him begin poking, so I nodded, letting him know it was ok to continue. He smiled and started pushing in. The usual burning sensation that came felt oddly enjoyable this time. Maybe it was because it was so cold outside that the warmth felt good.

Breathing became harder with every inch he pushed in. By about half way in, I was gasping for air. My vision started going white from the pleasure and my body ached for more. I rewrapped my legs around his body, pushing him in even faster than he was going.

His lips curled up into a smile when he was fully in. He started shaking lightly as he collapsed onto me. His body was already lightly coated in sweat, and it turn me on even further.

He started an easy rhythm. The sound of skin hitting skin was faint, but noticeable. His hands were placed next to mine, holding him up once he had enough stability to hold himself up. I crunched up and kissed the side of his neck, right where it meets his shoulder. One of his hands reached over and stroked my cheek softly, then continued down my neck and body until it reached my shaft. Ever so gently, he took hold of it and started pumping it, elating a groan or two out of me.

My vision seemed to get blurrier as time passed. Every second, I saw less of my surroundings and more of the foggy lust as my brain began shutting down. I knew it was a matter of time before someone finished, so I took the initiative to switch things up. I reached down and pulled him out, a playful smile upon my face as I did it.

At first he looked confused, but seemed to understand where I was going when my smile never faltered. Pushing him up, he sat on his knees and I crawled over to him, positioning myself straight up against him and on top of his seemingly weeping dick. Slowly I slid back down his shaft, my lower lip taking much needed abuse from my teeth during the process. Once he was back inside me, I smiled and kissed his lips, an easy rhythm forming during the kiss.

He pulled me closer to him, our stomachs smashed together roughly. His lips traveled from mine down to my neck. He began lightly nibbling along my jugular vein, ending at the base where his kisses felt feather-like to the touch, only those feathers were on fire. The burning in my gut and all over my body was getting to me. My hands began roaming all over his body; down his back, cupping his ass, back up his back, along his arms, you name it, my hands touched it.

He stared going faster, finally hitting my prostate along the way. A streak of white blocked my vision, and a loud moan left my lips. I needed more; wanted more. My heart was racing at almost a dangerously high rate, but I didn't care. All I wanted was for this experience to never end.

My breathing turned to hitches, which turned to gasps every thrust. My muscles wept for relief, but they would have to wait a little longer, because I was not ready to finish this.

His eyes were closed, but his facial expressions said it all. His lips were in a pained smile, like the pleasure was so immense that it hurt him. His breathing was as bad as mine. Hitches and gasps could be heard echoing mine.

He slammed his head into my chest while his hands reached down and cupped my ass. He began lifting and lowering me opposite every thrust up. I also felt a slight tingling sensation where his hands were. It was a similar sensation, one I had felt before. Then it hit me, his hands were releasing minor amounts of static electricity into me. At first I was shocked (no pun intended), but then I realized it felt incredible, so I let it be.

My will to continue was dwindling, so much so that I took one of his hands and brought it forward, wrapping it around my shaft. It was beginning to hurt from being erect for so long and it desperately needed release.

He smiled against my chest, kissing it before coming back up and locking our lips. His hand began pumping my shaft while the other one moved up my back and into my hair. He pulled my head back and kissed my Adam's apple. You could hear his hand as it jacked my dick with all the energy he had left.

Just when I though the pleasure couldn't get any higher, he hit my prostate just right, and I lost it. My orgasm was loud and hard, with moans and screams echoing throughout the cabin and shot after shot of cum rocketing up, coating our chests.

Landon only lasted a few more thrusts before he orgasmed. He bit down against my neck, pulling my hair and head back away from him. I didn't mind though. The pain sort of fueled my release even more.

When we were both done, I fell back hard against my bed. I was out of breath, and so was he. He collapsed on top of me, making a squishing noise when our stomachs connected.

We laughed, both of us exhausted to do anything else. He pulled out, throwing the condom in the trash next to my bed.

He stroked my face lightly with his fingers. "I love you. Even if you don't think I do." He kissed my cheek, flipping us over so that I was on top of him.

"I love you too, and if I make you feel like I don't, then it's a lie. You've been my first true love. Nothing can compare to that." I pecked his chin, resting my head on his chest; my eyes closing instantaneously.

He pulled the covers up over us and began rubbing the back of my head. "I know love, I know." I soon fell asleep to the rhythm of his breathing and the rising and falling of his chest.

…...

The dream I had made me extremely nervous. I was back on Mount. Othrys, watching Brent look at someone who was chained to a pillar.

"Now, why would I find you here? Weren't you supposed to be in Camp Half-Blood?" Brent walked over to her and lifted her face up.

When I saw who it was, I gasped. It was Tammy. Her face was all scratched and had no makeup on, which was surprising to see since she always wore some. Her brown hair was messy in front of her face, blocking me from seeing her eyes.

She just smiled, "Oh Brent, isn't it obvious. I'm here to stop you and win the love of my life back. Maybe if he sees that I can take you down, he'll love me again." That familiar smile came across her face and I knew what was coming next. "Now, why don't you release these shackles so that I can kill you?" Her voice was like velvet, compelling even me to try and save her, and I wasn't even physically there. This was one of Tammy's specialties. Her chamspeak.

Brent seemed to want to let her go, but recomposed himself and smiled at her. "Nice try Tammy, but you're chamspeak wont work on me. I'm immune because my mom was a daughter of Aphrodite. I guess that's a perk of being three/fourths god." He laughed wickedly, turning away from her and walking off towards the darkness.

Tammy began crying. Her usual courageous attitude seemed to be destroyed once her ace in the hole didn't work. She began pulling at the shackles, trying to pry them off the walls. "Ryan! Come save me!" Her voice rang through my head as I tried to wake myself up.

When I opened my eyes, I was full of sweat again. I felt clammy and shaky. When I realized I was ok, I closed my eyes and rested my head back on the pillow. It took awhile for something to click in my brain. _Wait, pillow? Where's Landon? _I opened my eyes, the sun blinding me for a few minutes before I was able to see clearly.

When I could see, I looked around frantically, but I couldn't find him at all. Landon was gone.


	5. Chapter 4: The Start

**A/N: The chapter is up earlier than you were expecting wasn't it? Enjoy, because you wont be hearing from me for a couple weeks. I have a lot of midterms and projects to do, so the next chapter might not be up until around the first week of February, maybe even on my birthday. Here you find out a few new interesting things that I wont spoil in the original note. Enjoy the chapter and please review ^^.**

The empty room made me depressed. Where could he possibly have gone? The corner where our clothes were thrown only had my shirt and pants. There was no trace that he even stayed the night last night.

My head dropped, my heart not far behind it. Why didn't he stay until I woke up, or at least woke me up letting me know he had to go? I slammed my head back down on the pillow, slowly beginning to lose my motivation to get up.

The clock on the table next to the bed read 7:23. I was already late for the start of the quest. We would be leaving in seven minutes and I wasn't even dressed yet.

Jumping out of bed, I grabbed some clothes quick and threw them on. Maybe that's why Landon had to leave? But then why didn't he wake me up? My brain still tried to find a reason for his absence.

Once my clothes were on, I thought of a few things I would need for this trip. Grapping a drawstring bad, I placed the monster repellant, weapon polisher, Drachma, crystal, Nectar, Ambrosia, and the dice from Jen in it. I figured that we could use them at least once on this trip.

I left my cabin, running up the hill to Thalia's tree where the rest of the group was waiting. "I'm here!" I yelled as I approached them. Jen, Percy, and Annabeth turned around, all somewhat annoyed that I arrived JUST in the nick of time, but also confused.

"Ryan, where's Landon? Nobody can seem to find him." Jen screamed as I got closer.

I stopped running, realizing that he wasn't up there waiting like the rest of them. "I'm not quite sure. To be honest, I thought he was already up here with you guys." I turned around, running back towards the cabins.

"Where are you going? We're getting ready to leave." Percy started after me, but I shoed him away.

"I'm going to find Landon. It won't take too long." I already had a good idea where he would be, so I ran towards the beach.

…...

It was extremely cold outside, even inside the barrier that surrounded camp. The trees of the forest were all lightly coated with frozen dew, while the sea itself had a thin sheet of ice lying at the top. It truly was a beautiful sight.

Once at the beach, a strong gust of wind hit my face, drying my eyes. I closed them, trying to help them regain their moisture. Although I couldn't see, I could hear something odd around me. It sounded like a light humming, but it sounded like it was moving so fast, I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

I forced my eyes open, looking around quickly to try and find the source if this strong gust. There was nothing around me, so I looked in the last place I'd normally look; up. And there the source was. A man in a navy blue and white pin stripe suit was floating down from the sky.

He landed on the sand, making some of the grains whirl away as his feet touched. His face was stern, but also worried. He looked around ominously, spotting me and seemingly getting angrier.

He was over to me in an instant. "Where is he?" He lifted me up by my collar, shaking me and glaring at me with his stormy grey eyes. "Tell me where he is right now, or you shall know the full wrath of the king of gods."

My voice caught in my throat. "Wh…who are you looking for?" That was all I could say. I didn't know who he was talking about.

"You know damn well who I'm looking for." He searched my eyes for something, but he couldn't seem to find it, so he put me down. "If you don't know who I'm talking about, then you really don't deserve him."

Something in my brain put together what he said with who I was looking for. "Are you talking about Landon? I was just looking for him." Now I was curious, "What happened to him? I woke up this morning and he was gone."

He looked down, not wanting to look me in the eye. Maybe his pride was hurt since I didn't know anything about what was happening. He sighed, "I got a message from your father saying he's taken Landon until his son is returned. He also said he had another reason, but he wouldn't tell me the other reason. When I saw you, I assumed you knew what happened." He paused, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking that by your father taking him, he was also going to be hurting you. I'm asking you as the king of the gods, go to your father and find out why he took Landon."

My brain was running a mile a minute. Since when did Zeus care about his children? Why did my dad take Landon? "I'll go talk to my father, but not because you asked me. He's my partner; my lover, it's my job to go rescue him. I just have one question: Why do you care about him all of a sudden? When his mother beat him, you weren't there to rescue him. You didn't even try to help him. You could have at least sent him to camp half-blood! He would have been safe there!" My voice kept rising but I didn't care. He was the king of the gods but that didn't mean he couldn't keep his son safe.

His face became angry as he picked my up again, "Now look here boy. How I treat my children is none of your business. I figured he needed to toughen up. I didn't want him to be a…" He stopped there.

"You didn't want him to be a what? What was so bad that you made him live with his mother until,"

"I didn't want him to be a faggot! I didn't want him to be a bitch bottom like you!" He yelled as he threw me back into the sand, the air around him rapidly heating up and forming static. "I was ashamed of having a homosexual son. My last two sons before him were both gay too. I was beginning to think it was something wrong with me. I thought that him living with an abusive mother would instill in him a need for a loving woman in his life, but then his stupid grandmother had to intervene and he ended up growing up gay, just like the other two. That's why I didn't intervene."

I was appalled. I thought the gods were supposed to be all knowing and understanding. "So why do you give a fuck now?"

I thought I saw a tear slide down his face, but it was gone so quickly, that I assumed I was seeing things. "Because he's my only demigod heir. I have so many godly children, along with two demigod girls, but he's my only male heir incase I were to fade away. I regret not being there for him when he needed me, but I refuse to make him suffer any more."

"Then why didn't you go down there and get him back yourself? You could have gotten him back before I even knew about it and we could have started the quest. Now we have one less day to save Triton because of my father's and your own stupidity."

He shook his head, "I can't go to your father's domain. Back when Gamos and Enosis were created, we signed a pact that we would never enter each other's domain unless it were for the solstice meetings. It was precautionary so that the drama around those pieces of jewelry wouldn't ever be repeated."

I stood up, dusting the sand off my clothes and glaring at Zeus. "I'm going to go save Landon, but like I said, it's not because you asked me. Also, I'm going to tell him everything you just told me. He deserves to know why he had to live with his mother until his grandma intervened and why you did nothing to help him. I also have one more question. When you said you're last two sons turned out gay, what were their stories?"

He lifted his head, his face proud once again. "They were the my two prides and joys, other than the original heroes from Greece. The first one was born during the civil war. His mother was a widow who's husband died in the war. He ended up becoming the hero of his town when he saved a fellow man from a burning building. The man was a son of Poseidon by chance, and the two of them became a couple a few days later."

"Then one day, man found Enosis and gave it to my son. He was so stunned by the bracelet that they ended up becoming the first gay couple to every be famous to the gods. A few days later, my son, Arthur, found Gamos and gave it to Abraham, the son of Poseidon. Happy, they moved to Cleveland and started a refuge house for children who needed a home. Then both died together in 1892, both at the age of 29."

I was in shock. Gamos and Enosis again. Was it just a coincidence that I found the bracelet. "And what about the other son?"

Zeus chuckled, "Ah, now he was a good man. Michael, brave boy born in 1895. He grew up to be a army man who served in the first world war. Ended up meeting a man in Britain who was a son of Poseidon, again. Then ended up coming back to America after the war. Then, Chase, Poseidon's son, found Enosis again. It was like Déjà vu all over again. Then Michael found Gamos again, and they ended up marrying each other at Camp Half-Blood. It was a secret marriage that only the gods and Chiron knew about. They ended up being the oldest demigod couple to every stay married."

Speaking of Déjà vu. This was similar to the story that Landon told us about last night, only not really. "This sounds like a story that Landon told us last night. He found it in an abandoned schoolhouse in Cleveland, which is oddly familiar to the story about Arthur and Abraham combined with the story of Michael and Chase. He found the original story of Gamos and Enosis, but it said that the couple was a man and a woman who ended up married. The timeline fits Arthur's, since the paper was dated in 1890, but the story fits Michaels. Why is that?"

Again, Zeus laughed, only this time is was a loud, booming laugh. "That is one thing I cannot tell you. Even I do not know why the story was fudged. But I have a feeling that the paper was written after Michael and Chase were married. If you find out, let me know." He clapped his hands, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

I just stood in the sand, dumbfounded. Why would someone lie about Michael's and Chase's story? Was it used to protect anyone who found the story so that they wouldn't be offended? I couldn't figure it out, so I let it settle into the back of my mind so I could focus on the more important fact. My dad kidnapped Landon, and I have to figure out why.

I ran back to the camp, arriving at the tree in record time. "Percy, Jen, we're going on a little side trip." I pulled the drawstring's to seal the bag and put it on my back.

They looked at each other and then back at me. "Why? What happened?"

"Let's just say dad isn't on my favorite people list right now. We need to stop by his palace underwater so I can have a talk with him."

Annabeth looked uneasy. "I'm coming too. This way we can start the quest once we're done."

"Alright, then get your bags ready, we're going now." I started down towards the beach again, but Percy ran up next to me and stopped me.

"Where's Landon?"

"All I'm saying is that he's the reason we have to go see dad." I grabbed the necklace around my neck, holding it tightly as my heart ached for reasons. Reasons why dad stole him. The real reason why Zeus was worried about Landon. And, why Gamos and Enosis were revealing themselves now, to another pair of homosexual Zeus and Poseidon demigods.


	6. Chapter 5: Rescuing Landon

**A/N: I'm back! :D. Well, I hope this chapter was worth the wait, because it took forever to write. I thought it would be longer, but I didn't end up being that way. Oh well. Like I said, I hope this was worth it and I hope it's good, because I feel as though I'm starting to backtrack with the way I've been writing. Please review, because I'd love to know if people still care to read this. Toodaloo for now. Also, sorry for the delay. This was ready a few days ago, but the website wouldnt let me add the chapter to any of my stories. **

I was back at the beach, sitting down in the sand. My mind wandered, thinking about my conversation with Zeus and why my dad took Landon. It didn't make any sense to me no matter how hard I thought about it. My father kidnapped Landon because of Enosis, which wasn't too off since it belonged to his wife, but how did he know Landon had it?

Percy came over and sat down next to me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. "What happened? What does dad have to do with Landon's disappearance?" His tone wasn't one of suspicion, but more of compassion. He seemed genuinely concerned about Landon and how his absence was affecting me.

I turned my face into his chest, soft tears flowing out of my eyes. "Dad took him. I think it has something to do with Enosis and the old story." I wrapped my arms around him. "I don't know what to do Percy. I've never had to deal with something like this."

He cradled my head in his hands, cooing softly to try to comfort me. "It's not something easy to handle. When Annabeth went missing, I was a wreak. I did everything I could to go find her, even sneak away on a quest that I wasn't supposed to go on." He began stroking his index finger down my cheek. "It was a mission to rescue the goddess Artemis, who got tricked into taking the curse of Atlas. We knew that Annabeth was with her because of dreams I had."

My heart started to lift. "You have dreams like that too?"

"All the time. In fact, I had one last night about Zeus. He was talking with Hera about how he was worried about one of his children, but he didn't say which one. I guess I know who now."

I didn't know why, but listening to him talk calmed me down, especially since he went through a similar situation. I started to breath lighter, the strained breathing that came with crying was starting to dwindle down.

He sighed, tracing small patterns into the sand. "I told Annabeth and Jen to wait here for us. They both had too many bags packed and placed in the car that it would have taken too long for them to unpack. We'll be back in a little bit, don't worry." He pressed his lips to the top of my head, rubbing my arm.

I was feeling much better knowing I had someone who I could talk to, other than Landon. It made me feel like I wasn't only wanted from my body, which was something I felt at times when I was with Landon. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Percy flashed me his trademark smile, one that said 'Hey, don't worry. Everything's gonna be all right.' "Yeah, I'm sure of it, but we'd better hurry." He hoisted me up off the beach, walking over to the ocean and jumping in headfirst.

I watched as he disappeared under the surface, no bubbles coming up from under the water. I started towards the ocean, my feet shaking with every step I took. I waded in, not diving head first like Percy did.

The water was cold, and even though I wasn't getting wet, it felt colder than it should have. I felt as though the water was trying to pop the layer of protection Poseidon kids had, and I felt like it was succeeding. My breathing felt shallow and I started gasping for air. My senses were clouding up. I couldn't tell what was around me, and I didn't know where I was going.

My mind started to black out, and the last thing I remember was a faint screaming in the distance.

…...

I didn't know where I was at first. All I knew was that I wasn't awake. Even though it was pitch dark, I could see everything as if it were clear as day. There was a gigantic seashell castle in front of me, decorated with starfish and coral. Seahorses flew past me, landing in an area in front of the main entrance. The doors opened, letting the lime-green sea creatures inside.

I swam forwards, deciding to investigate the mysterious castle, even though I had a good idea who it belonged too. I weaved through the doors just as they were about to close and began searching the various rooms along the primary hallway.

The first room I found was filled with glorious treasures that only existed in fairytales. Golden crowns gilded with rubies and sapphires sparkled in the dim light. Staffs, along with numerous types of jewelry filled wall-covered cabinets. There were two swordfish sleeping in the corner of the room, but they seemed as though they would attack on a dime, so I decided to leave the room and try the next one.

The second room was filled with weapons and other types of militaristic devises. A triton was sitting nicely in a glass case. It looked like Poseidon's original triton, the one he would use in the original folklores. It looked battered and dulled, which only further made me think it was his original weapon. Even though this room had an enormous amount of history in it, I didn't like it much, so I left quickly.

I skipped the next few rooms, expecting to find similar things, or even some things I didn't want to see.

I was swimming down a bigger hallway that was connected to the littler one I was originally in when I heard a scream. It came from the end of the hall, so I decided to check it out.

The screams became louder as I approached a large door with a trident on it. The scream was familiar, one I had heard before. One that belonged to someone very dear to me. I hesitantly opened the door, not wanting to startle anyone in the room or let whoever was in there to know I was spying.

"How did that _boy_ get something that belonged to Hera?" Amphitrite asked venomously, standing in front of someone that was hanging form the ceiling by coral shackles. "Answer me boy!" She raised her hand, which was holding a whip that looked like a jellyfish tentacle, and lashed whoever was chained up.

The person let out a scream as the tentacle electrocuted him. "I told you, I don't know where he got the damn bracelet, and even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you anyways, you waterlogged bitch." The voice of an extremely exhausted Landon echoed in my ears.

My heart dropped hearing the pain in his voice. Why was he going through this? Was it simply over a stupid piece of jewelry? It wasn't right if that was the case.

Her back stiffened, her eyes glaring at him. "You've got a lot of nerve to call the queen of the seas a waterlogged bitch. Why don't I show you exactly how cruel I can be?" She raised her hand again, but instead of one whip, she had five, one on each finger. She mercilessly began whipping Landon, sending so many electrical currents through the water I thought I could feel them.

Landon groaned in agony, his clothes beginning to tear apart. His abdomen was already covered with red, whip shaped marks. "Where…is Poseidon? Why is he letting you get away with this?"

She chuckled a cold laugh, "He has no idea you're here. He is in his Pacific mansion awaiting the arrival of that group filled with _three _of his bastard children. I figured you would be the most helpful member of the group to take because your one of the few that is liked by all three of the demigods, and I want to start eradicating my world of all my husbands illegitimate children. That's why I kidnapped you, because I was expecting your little lover to try and find you, which is why I forged a letter that I sent to your father, explaining that Poseidon has taken his only male demigod until his son has been returned. Your father took the bait as expected and confronted Ryan, telling him to come rescue you. I expect he'll be on his way soon." She laughed coldly again, sending a chill down my spine.

She abruptly stopped laughing, glaring at his wrist. "The only thing that I didn't expect to find when I abducted you was that bracelet upon your wrist. I've been so preoccupied with that that I haven't checked to see if Ryan has dived into the water yet. For your sake, you better hope he hasn't."

Landon's body stiffened, "What do you mean? What'll happen to him?"

She took his face in her hand, forcing him to look in her eyes. "Once Ryan steps foot into the ocean, he will feel as though his powers are failing him. Since he is a son of my husband, I cannot kill him by making him drown, but I figure he'll die soon enough, once the food deprivation staves him."

Landon's head dropped, his voice no more than a whisper at first. "Why? Why would you go this far to kill a demigod? Do you not have any heart at all?"

"My heart shriveled up a millennia ago when Poseidon started his adulterous ways. As of now, you will wait here until I deem you ready to leave." She turned around, leaving the room.

Landon dangled there, sobbing. "Ryan, just stay safe."

…...

"Ryan, Ryan, wake up!" Percy was suspending above me, shaking me violently to wake up. He had a cold sweat running down his face, or at least I assumed it was a cold sweat due to the freezing feel of his hands on my arms.

"Y…yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired is all." I placed my hand on my forehead, which felt extremely cold. _Well, that explained why I feel weird in the water. _

Percy helped me stand up. I still couldn't see anything, nor could I breathe easily, but I felt better while holding Percy's hand. It felt like he was sharing some of his oxygen with me.

"Ryan, why did I feel like you were drowning? That shouldn't even be possible for us." He began swimming away from me, but turned around and saw me feeling around the ocean floor. "Can you not sense where anything is?"

I shook my head, fearing that opening my mouth would allow water to drown me. I heard swimming and felt Percy come over and grab my hand. "That's better."

"Why couldn't you see anything? Don't you have the same powers as me?"

"I do, but right now, my powers are being suppressed by Amphitrite."

"How do you know that?"

I jumped off the ocean floor and began swimming towards what I sensed was the seashell castle from my dreams. I guess holding Percy's hand allowed us to share his powers for a time being. "Amphitrite was the one who took Landon. She sent a fake note to Zeus, who then came to me and asked me to rescue Landon from my father. She plans to kill all children of Poseidon, and apparently I was the first target."

"That's really bad Ryan. We can't battle a goddess." He tried to let go of my hand, but I kept a firm grip on it. "Why wont you let go of my hand?"

"Because it's the only way I have some of my original powers, and it gets worse. I'm afraid she might be allied with Brent to revive Kronos. If she's trying to kill us now, during our mission to rescue her child, then she might not care if Triton dies if it helps revive Kronos."

His hand clenched mine, "Then I don't want to even confront her. We're just going to rescue Landon and get out as quick as possible." He began pushing the water behind us, like a propeller, to send us faster towards the gigantic shell castle from my dream. "Where is he being held?" he asked as we slowed down, sneaking up behind a pillar of coral.

"The main room, the one with their thrones in it." I took Tidal out of my pocket, preparing it for anything that might happen. Once one of the guards passed, we slipped in, swimming over the gate faster than any dolphin could have.

We dove in and out of doorways, avoiding the random swordfish that would come from around the bends.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Percy asked after we went down our fourth hallway.

"Yes, I just had a dream about where he was. Don't you know your way around here?"

"Not after they rebuilt the castle after Dad's battle with Oceanus. They changed the architecture around a bit. Annabeth would know for sure. She designed the blueprints."

"That's cool, but I thought Athena and Poseidon hated each other?"

"They did, or at least until Annabeth and I got together. Now they just moderately dislike each other."

That was a shock to me, especially since I hadn't known anything about what happened before I escaped the Lotus Hotel.

"We're close." I recognized the hallway we were in, but then a fear settled in my heart. The door was opened, and it was closed when I left the dream. I didn't tell Percy though, and I didn't know why. I guess it was my selfishness and my desire to save Landon that I didn't think about him at the time.

I peeked in and didn't see anything but Landon hanging there, so I swam over, trident in hand, and hugged him.

Landon lifted his head, revealing a multitude of red whip marks across his beautiful face. "R…Ryan. Is that you?" His voice was extremely strained.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm so sorry you had to go through this." I wrapped my hands in his hair, loving the feel of it.

"Well, well, I'm surprised you even made it this far in my castle." Amphitrite appeared from behind her throne, holding what looked like two jellyfish tentacles. "I'm not sure how you managed to do that, but now, it's time for you to die." She charged at me with unimaginable speed, smacking me across the room and into the wall.

I winced as my head smashed against the hard shells, shattering a few upon impact. "Why are you doing this? I'm one of the people trying to help your son!"

"My son will be fine. I'm sure Annabeth can take care of an infiltration mission to destroy whatever is preventing my husband from doing it himself. My only concern is to eradicate all bastard children of my husband." She dashed over to me again, hoisting me up so I was eye level with the ten-foot tall giant woman. She raised one of the tentacles, which transformed into a coral spear. "Now, die!."

Percy flew through the door, sending a shockwave of water at the sea goddess.

She flew back, landing right in her throne with nothing more than a scratch on her. "It looks like I can take out more than one of you stupid kids at once." She began charging at us, but was stopped by a bunch of weeds that miraculously sprang out of the floor. "What the Hades is going on?"

"How dare you take my husbands name in vain." Persephone popped out of the weeds. She looked more serious than she did in my dream, but she also had a nice glow about her, which might have come from her being the goddess of spring.

"Why are you interfering Persephone? This is my problem do take care of." Amphitrite was struggling to escape the foliage, but couldn't seem to.

Persephone went over and undid Landon's shackles, bringing him over to me. "Here you go boy." She turned to the sea woman with resentment in her eyes. "How dare you sacrifice the safety of your child to because suddenly you decided to kill every demigod of your husband, again no less."

"Wait, again?" Percy seemed interested in the fact that this didn't seem like the first time.

"Long ago, she decided to kill every single demigod of Poseidon, and it turned out to be the worst thing she could have ever done. She killed them right before the dark ages arose, which was partially due to a lack of Poseidon children to explore the seas."

Amphitrite growled loudly, "Shut your face Persephone. You have no idea what it's like to have a child. How would you know what the right thing to do is?"

My mind went back to one of my older dreams. "It's because she's trying to have a child of her own." I swam over to the spring goddess, "That's why she's trying to save Triton, because if he was to die and she was to get pregnant, then that baby would be the key to reviving Kronos."

Persephone nodded, "You know much about that. I'm glad I allowed you to witness that conversation." She took my hand, placing five seeds in it. "Use those when you're in deep trouble, they will help you."

I stared at the seeds in my hand, "What do they do?"

She chuckled, "You'll find out soon enough." She raised her hands, and pods began to surround all three of us. "These pods will take you to the surface. Be safe boys, and avoid traveling through the seas at all costs." She tilted her head back to the bound goddess. "She will be out to kill you whenever your feet touch the ocean."

I nodded, "Thank you so very much. I owe you."

"You're only debt is to make sure that Triton does not fall." She waved goodbye, "Be safe." and with that, the pods closed and shot straight up through the ceiling of the castle.


	7. Chapter 6: Unhelpful Dream

**A/N: I'm back :D, and thank the gods it's summer vacation. Now, I'm not going to give you guys any long winded speech about how I'm a terrible person because I know I am D: I just want to say that I know this chapter is definitely not worth the wait in my own opinion, but it was necessary, and I promise that the next few chapters will be up soon and will be filled with action and lemons ;), so please bare with me while you wait, because it gets better. **

The pods shot out of the ocean and landed on the beach of camp. I tore the leafs open, running over the another pod and ripping it apart. Landon was laying on the bottom of the bulb, eyes closed.

"Oh gods." I collapsed to the ground, gently resting my hand on his cool cheek. "No, no, he can't be dead. Not after everything we went through to save him.

Percy left his bud, coming over to me and resting his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry Ryan. I thought we made it in time."

I turned around and hugged him, sobbing into his shoulder. How could we not have made it in time? This was all my fault.

Suddenly, I felt another hand rest on my leg. I turned to see Landon's eyes were opening slowly, a wide smile dawning on his face. "Why are you crying? Were you worried about me?"

My arms flung around him. "You're alive!" I was still crying, but they were tears of joy. "I thought I lost you." I then saw the smile on his face, and I slapped his arm. "Don't you dare do that to me again you ass!"

He weakly embraced me, "You cant kill me that easily, and I won't, promise."

I let him go and watched as he winced. He was obviously still in a lot of pain, but he was ignoring it for some reason as he limply got up. "Are you sure you're ok?" He nodded, that darling smile of his as convincing as ever.

"Guys, we might want to get moving." Percy help lift Landon up slowly so not to cause him any more pain. "I'm glad you're ok though."

We hobbled up the beach to camp, holding Landon up most of the way until he convinced us that he was feeling strong enough to walk. "I'm fine to walk on my own guys." We let him go, but as soon as he took a step, he collapsed to the ground. "Ok, maybe I'm not so fine." He laughed weakly, leaning against me mostly as we guided him to Jen and Annabeth.

"What happened to him?" Jen came running over, picking up his legs so we could set him into the awaiting camp van.

"It was nothing. I'll explain it on the way." Percy looked at me, "Get in next to him. I'm sure you're worried about him more than any of us. We can finish up the remaining pre-quest tasks. Just stay with him for now."

"Thank you." I hugged Percy, then got in the van and sat next to Landon. "How're you doing?" I asked, placing my hand on his forehead to see if he had a fever. He did, but it was slight.

He turned his head so that he was facing me. "I'm doing better. At least I can feel the air touching my skin. That's a plus." He laughed faintly, but soon cringed.

I could tell that he was in a lot of pain, but I knew he'd never admit it. That damn pride of his. "That's a plus. Why don't you rest a bit. I'm right here if you need me."

He rested his head on my shoulder, taking a few long, deep breaths. "I love you Ryan. More than you'll ever know."

I kept stroking my fingers across his cheeks, trying to ease him into slumber, not realizing that I too was falling asleep. Last thing I remembered was the sound of doors opening and closing, then, nothing.

…...

I opened my eyes to see I was laying on a bed in the middle of a department store. I stretched, getting out of the bed and fixing the sheets so they looked nice. I looked around the store. It didn't seem familiar at all, but at the same time, I knew exactly where I was. It was a JC Penny's, but it wasn't a normal one. There was absolutely nobody in the store except for the cashiers and one lady. She was beautiful, even to me. From far away, she looked to be a blonde, like almost yellow blonde. She looked over at me and smiled, walking over gracefully. As she got closer, he hair color started to shift, which seemed to fit her more.

She stood in front of me with a smile on her face. "Hello Ryan Pavid."

She knew my name? "Hello Ms." I was polite, not wanting to offend her since she knew me from somewhere.

She laughed, which too sounded melodic. "I take it you don't recognize me. That is ok. I was not sure if you would. I am Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love."

My eyes widened and I dropped to one knee. "My apologies for not recognizing you ma'am."

She set her petite hand on my shoulder. "Rise son of Poseidon. There is no need to bow to me." She took a shirt from a rack, holding it up in front of her. "How does this look on me."

I looked up at her, staring at her in wonder. "That looks amazing on you." I blushed. Why I blushed was beyond me.

She placed her hand on my cheek. "You're just as sweet as the other two were, but your fashion sense is lacking." She went over to another rack. She found a turquoise shirt and a pair of plaid-looking shorts. She snapped her fingers and soon I was wearing the outfit that she had in her hands, with my old clothes hanging on the rack next to her. "There. You look much more handsome now."

I looked at myself in the mirror and had to admit, I did look good. "Thank you, but I have a feeling that updating my fashion sense wasn't the only reason you summoned me here." I started thinking about what she said. "Wait, as sweet as the other two? What does that mean?"

She chuckled, continuing to look through the clothing wracks. "What I meant by the other two was that you remind me of the other two gay Poseidon children I helped back in the day. Abraham and Chase. Those were the boys' names."

I froze. There were those two names again. I couldn't help but feel somehow connected to them, maybe because we were all gay children of Poseidon, I wasn't too sure. "Did you say Chase and Abraham? Like the Chase and Abraham from the Enosis and Gamos stories?"

Aphrodite looked at me with loving eyes. "I see you know the stories behind my special jewelry. Yes, I am talking about the same two from the legends." She looked at me curiously, but jokingly. "I am curious as to how you know about those stories, since they are kept very secret even among the gods."

"Why are they kept secret?" I was curious. It didn't seem like a story that would normally be kept secret.

Aphrodite looked around, making sure nobody would be able to eavesdrop on their conversation. "The true reason to these stories being kept secret involves talking to both Hera and Amphitrite. They are the only ones who know the true reasons."

I shuttered when she said Amphitrite's name. Why of all people did she have to mention her? "Look, thanks for the news, but Amphitrite won't be helping us any time soon, and Hera will probably be the same. She hates all of Zeus' kids."

Aphrodite laughed, resting her hand on my shoulder. "You obviously haven't noticed yet. The reason why we can't talk about the stories is because of something that happened over 150 years ago. When you notice something specific, I'll tell you more." She smiled and waved, and my dream seemed to fade away.

I tried to run after her while the dream was blurring away. "Wait, what do I have to notice? Tell me more. Give me some hint." But it was too late. She was already gone and so was the dream.

I woke up to Percy swerving in and out of traffic, with Annabeth looking out the back windshield for something. I lifted my head off Landon's, who was waking up same as I was, and turned to Percy. "What's going on? Why are you driving like a maniac?"

Percy cut the wheel, turning down a side street and turning the car off, hushing me. "Stay quiet." he whispered. "We're being followed my something we can't fight." He climbed into the back seat with Annabeth and Jen, looking out the back window with them.

Landon turned around to look outside with them. "What is it?" He took hold of my hand, squeezing it tightly. He seemed to have gotten all his usual energy and vitality back.

Annabeth looked at Landon with a glimmer of hope. "You can fight it." She pulled out her laptop, looking up some information I assumed. "Yes, you're the only one here who can fight that thing."

"Fight what?" I asked, scared about letting Landon fight anything, especially alone. I didn't know if he was one hundred percent back to normal, even though he acted it.

There was a horrid shriek that seemed to come from all around. I covered my ears, shaking lightly. "What the hell was that?" I asked, tweeking out slightly. It sounded like a bird call, only much more terrifying.

Percy cringed during the cry, relaxing once it was over. "It's the original Teratornithidae, a gigantic bird monster thought to have evolved away form it's original giant from. It seems Kronus has found a way to devolve one of them back to it's huge form."

I curled up tighter into a ball. Of all things, it had to be a giant ass bird of prey. I thought about Landon fighting one of those things alone. "No, absolutely not. He is not going to fight that bird all by himself." I latched onto his arm securely, not wanting to let him go.

Landon took my face in his hands, kissing my forehead lightly. "Don't worry so much. I can do this."

I shook my head, not letting him go. "I'm not going to let you go off alone to fight this giant bird. I can't lose you again." I had flashbacks to when I was holding Jacob's dying body back in 1942. I couldn't handle holding someone I loved dying again. I had told Jacob not to bother with those stupid Ares campers, but he told me not to worry and that he would be fine.

Landon looked me right in the eyes, pecking my nose. "I love that you worry so much about me, but you don't need to worry this time. I can handle myself against this bird." He pulled out his mace can, smiling at me before opening the door. "I'll make it back, promise." He darted outside the car and flew up into the sky.

I peeked my head out the window, a few tears running down my face. "You better make it back. You owe me big time for doing this to me!" and with that, he was gone into the sky, off to fight my biggest fear of all time, birds.


	8. Chapter 7: An Odd Fight

_**A/N: Well, I hope this wasn't too long of a wait for you guys, but trust me, I'm sure you'll be happy with this chapter. It's probably my best one if I do say so myself. I've been really busy with creative writing practices and workshops to help improve my writing, and this chapter is the collaboration of everything I've learned. Please give me some feedback about it, and hopefully the next chapter will be up before I start school on the 6**__**th**__** of September. Hope you all enjoy it. PS, please pardon any mistakes in this chapter. I uploaded it at 2 in the morning before proof reading it.  
**_

_**POV: Landon**_

I shot up into the air, a freezing cold breeze blowing against my face. The sun beat down, warming me up slightly while the sky itself was chilling, but it wasn't enough. That's what I get for feeling at home in the air, more so than on the ground and especially more than under water. I was glad I had overcome my fear of heights, but that went away when I knew I couldn't fall and die. There was just something about heights that made him feel safer, more secure now.

The screeching of the Teratornithidae was loud, and the beast looked just as menacing. It had a long, orange beak about seven feet long, maybe eight. In total, from beak to tail, it was probably about fifty feet length, but I couldn't be sure. It's greasy black feathers ruffled in the wind as the flying terror screeched and circled the van, not seeming to notice me yet. That was good. I could use the chance for a surprise attack.

I slowly circled around behind the bird, staying in it's blind spot to make sure it wouldn't see me. The smell coming off the bird was horrid, causing me to dry heave a little bit. I pushed the button on the mace can Thalia had given me, turning it into a spear. I hadn't had much practice using it, but I didn't think it would be that hard to use, right? I was terribly wrong.

Collecting a massive amount of electricity in the tip of the spear, I was trying to aim it carefully at the Terato. My hand was shaky, so keeping the spear steady was a real challenge. The bird's erratic movement didn't help much either. When I was ready to throw the lightning, I cocked my arm back, prepared to throw the static.

The Terato looked over at me, our eyes locking as it turned around so that we were facing each other. It's beak opened, a menacing growl escaping it's throat. It's talons curled up slightly and those eyes told me everything it was thinking. It wanted to destroy me, and I was ready for it.

The Terato's wings locked, and the bird came barreling towards me, it's claws bared at me, sharp and read as if to tear me apart. I pretended to throw the spear, which sent the pent-up electricity at it's tip to shoot out like a bolt, but it's aim was off and some backfired, singeing my clothes a little. The Terato only got nicked on the wing, but that little shock was enough to send the bird off target enough to miss me. It looked pissed beyond believe though when it got itself back on to normal.

My senses seemed to be even more heightened since I was fighting in the air. I could actually feel when the Terato was going to strike, which gave me enough time to react and evade it's slashing talons and it's stabbing beak.

After a few minutes of dodging and evading, I saw my opportunity to strike. I noticed that every few times it circled around, it had to shake itself, possibly to loosen up any feathers that had gotten too matted down from flying so fast. When it shook the next time, I quickly raised my spear, having gathered static from the air during our game of cat and mouse, and chucking the bolt of lightning at the bird.

Fortunately for me, the bolt hit. The Terato shrieked horribly loud, falling from the sky and turning into the gold dust that appeared whenever you defeated a monster. I let out a sigh of relief. It was over. The monster was gone, or so I thought. Next thing I knew, I heard the shrieks of multiple Teratos, and when I turned around, there was a whole flock of them; ten to be exact. They were all the same color, that pitch black with orange beaks. It almost reminded me of Halloween, but these weren't airplanes in costumes.

They flew in a V shape, similar to how geese flew when they were migrating south for the winter, which was ironic because it was winter. The front one seemed to be the leader of the group, being several feet bigger and thicker than the rest. It also seemed to have a scar across it's beak and eyes, almost as if it'd already battled with someone, or something, and won.

The leader screeched, and the group dispersed, forming a circle around me. I was trapped with no way out, but that only made me more excited. My whole body was tingling, making me shake my arms a little bit. The anticipation was the worst part, but if I'd learned anything from monster fighting training, it was always let them strike first.

A blur of feathers just missed my face, and I realized that I'd been focusing on the head bird too much. The rest of the pack was slowly creeping up around me, only about 5 feet away. Their beaks open slightly as if ready to start tearing the flesh off my bones.

I had to think quickly, but I didn't know exactly what to do. There was no way I could handle all these birds if they attacked at once, but I needed to be able to defend myself. Ten against one were not odds I liked to play, but they would have to do.

One of the smaller ones darted at me first, and I stabbed my spear into is spine, sending thousands of volts of electricity into it's body. If that didn't kill it, the fall down would since it was probably going to be paralyzed. The Terato yelped and fell, disintegrating just like I knew it would. The group backed away slowly, hollering louder as if trying to intimidate me.

Two more came charging at me, but I was prepared for them as well. I threw my spear into the air, and when the two masses of feathers were close enough, I grabbed both their beaks and sent electricity through them, most likely paralyzing them as well. And I was right, the other two fell just like the first one, turning into raining showers of monster dust. Three down, seven more to go.

The leader must have felt a little intimidated by me, because he sent two of his bigger lackeys after me, and they were faster than I thought. Their wings each clipped my arms before I could defend myself, giving me two open cuts that stung in the freezing winter air. I quickly checked my pockets, afraid that they had ripped them and the contents had fallen out. They were intact, with everything that should be in them there. The Teratos didn't come right after me again though, and it bothered me. Almost as if they were planning something secret.

I had to think fast, not knowing exactly how badly this would get if they all attacked me at once. The leader seemed keen on getting to me, but I had to worry about it's underlings first. I gripped my spear tighter, and then something clicked in my brain. It was made of metal. A new plan formed in my head, and it would allow me to attack the birds while they stayed far away from me.

Sending a strong current through the spear, I chucked it at one of the birds that had attacked me minutes ago, hoping my plan would work. And it did. A stream of electricity connected the spear to my hand, and when the bird moved to avoid the weapon, I moved my hand and the spear followed it, puncturing right through it's neck and instantly defeating it. I did the same thing to the other big bird that attacked me, only this time smashing it through it's whole body. Half the group was gone now, and the leader looked terrified.

A confident smile appeared on my face_. These stupid birds aren't that hard to beat. They're just big and dumb._ I thought, retracting my spear back to my hand. At least I learned a few things about my weapon in that fight.

_Hey, who are you calling stupid birds. We take offense to that._ I shook my head, wondering where the hell that voice came from. I looked over at the leader, who had a confused look on it's face.

_Are you talking to me in my head?_ I thought with the Terato's face in mind.

_Yeah, I am. What, you didn't know demigods of Zeus could talk to us did you?_ The bird squawked, but I couldn't understand that. Only when it thought of something. _So, are you going to stop killing us now and let us speak, or do we need to force you to listen?_

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, or, thinking. These birds weren't after us because they wanted to kill us. They just wanted to tell us something. _I'll listen, sure. What is it you've got to tell me?_

The leader squawked again, but this time, there was a return. Another Terato came from out of the distance, only this one seemed to be carrying someone on it's back. When It got closer, I could see it was a boy with dark brown hair and a paled expression. My heart jumped a little. It was David.

The new arrival hovered next to me, and David had the brightest smile on his face. "Landon, it's good to see you again. How have you been?" He was a lot thinner than when I last saw him, and he had dark bags under his eyes, but it was definitely David

Smiling widely at him, I extended my hand out to shake his. "I've had one hell of a day today buddy, I'll tell you that much. First I was abducted by Amphitrite and held hostage for Ryan and Percy to come save me, which almost got them killed as well. Then I had a dream with Aphrodite in it saying we needed to go either talk to Hera or Amphitrite because there were some facts that we needed to learn. Now, I was fighting these things and you show up. I'd say my day's been really fucked up." I chuckled, running a hand through my hair. "What about you?"

David's face was quite literally shocked when he listened to my story. "Damn, I'd say you've had yourself one full day man. I've been good though, even if I've been stuck on Mount. Othrys for about 6 months. I had to sneak out when Brent sent out these Teratos, so I can't be gone long." He sounded really scared when he mentioned Brent's name, which made me worry slightly. What did Brent possibly do to David that made the boy so terrified?

I nodded in agreement. Being kept as a hostage must have sucked, but he was willing to do it, so he must be strong enough. "I'm sorry Dave. How long do you have before you need to go back?" I thought of Percy and Ryan, and how happy they'd be to see him.

Dave smiled widely, probably the first time he'd smiled in a long time. "Brent is busy doing something that'll take him a long time. He didn't tell me what exactly it was, but he left early and won't be back until late tomorrow." The joy in his voice so evident, and he seemed to be doing really well now that he was away from Brent.

My heart skipped a beat when he said he had a whole day away. Everyone would be happy. Well, at least Percy and Ryan would. Annabeth might not be as excited, but at least she didn't know what happened. "Cool. I'm sure you miss everyone." I hovered over to him and rested my hand on his shoulder. "Ryan's been keeping us informed of your actions through dreams he's had. He says you've been showing him secrets about Brent's movements."

David nodded, a relieved look on his face. "Thank the gods he's been seeing those. Brent told me that nothing could get in or out of Mount Othrys without him knowing, even dreams, but Brent hasn't figured out what I've been doing." He looked around at the birds, "Could you possibly bring me down to everyone? I need to send the Teratos away."

_Yeah, we're hungry and we need to hunt for food._ The leader nodded it's head, cooing lightly at the boy's last statement. You could almost hear their stomachs growling in the breeze.

I chuckled, taking a hold of Dave. "Sure. Just hold on tight." I pulled him over to me, wrapping my arms around him tightly to make sure he wouldn't fall. In any other circumstances, I would have feel awkward holding onto another boy so dearly, but this was a different circumstance all together.

David hugged my torso tighter than I held onto him. His legs wrapped around him, and he was shaking terribly. "I'm deathly afraid of heights, so sorry about the death-grip." His voice came out shaky, almost in a cry.

I chuckled at him. It was sort of cute that he was afraid of heights. Slowly I started to descend, and David let out a squeak. "Don't worry about it dude. Just make sure to get off when we touch down on the ground. I don't know if Ryan will be too keen on you holding onto his man."

The brunette nodded, relaxing just a bit as we slowly kept descending. "That much I can do. How are you two doing by the way? I've been meaning to ask." He kept his eyes closed as he spoke, and I couldn't blame him. The first time I descended from a height like this, I ended up vomiting because the sight gave me such a terrible headache.

"We're doing good from what I can tell. It's almost been a year now. I'm really happy." I couldn't help the giant grin that showed on my face, including a matching blush. Since Ryan had given me the Enosis, it was like a part of him was always with me.

Ever since I met Ryan, I always felt like there was some deeper connection to him, almost as if we'd known each other in a past life. He was my best friend, my boyfriend, and most of all, my lover. Someone who I knew would always love me no matter what happened. I didn't think I could ever live without him, not anymore. My life revolved around that caring son of Poseidon, and I wouldn't change a damn thing about it.

Dave sighed in content, which only helped redden my face. "I'm so glad you two are doing okay. There literally isn't another person on this whole planet who could love you as much as he does, and visa versa. I've seen how you two are together, and I must say I'm jealous." Dave grunted a little and moved a little bit. "What do you have in that pocket of yours Landon? It's really hurting my leg."

"You have nothing to be jealous about though Dave. I'm sure you'll find someone who'll love you like I love Ryan." I froze slightly at the boy's question. _Crap, should I tell him? No, it's too soon._ "Don't worry about it. It's nothing that concerns you." Dave nodded and I sighed in relief.

The tops of the buildings started leveling off with us, meaning we were finally getting close to the bottom. A few people stared out their windows, pointing fingers and all that. I couldn't have people knowing what I was doing, so with a quick snap of my fingers, the mist took effect around us. If I did it correctly, most people would only see a bundle of balloons floating down from the sky.

The pavement came into view, as did the van with everyone coming out to see if I was okay. Ryan had the biggest smile on his face, and it was adorable. I set my feet down on the pavement, glad to feel solid earth for the second time in my life. The first being after the bubble experience. "Hey everyone, look who I found up in the sky." Dave had let go of me as soon as his feet touched the ground, bending over to kiss a few times before spitting at his bad decision.

Percy and Ryan both had bright expressions on their face. Ryan tackled me, while Percy played it cool and kept on a playful smile at the sight of his old lover. "I was so worried about you. Don't ever do that to me again. I don't care if I have to sit on a cloud the next time. I'm not leaving you alone to fight anything like that ever again." Ryan pressed his lips against mine, and my whole body felt better.

I kissed him back, grabbing onto his face and pulling him deeper into the lip lock. I could feel him relax once my skin touched his, and I was grateful for it. _Ryan shouldn't have to worry about me like this. It's not fair to him._ "Deal, but the same goes for you in an underwater fight, even though at least you'll have Percy and Jen to help you." I smiled down at him, kissing his forehead. "I really didn't need to worry. The first one was easy, then a whole flock came to fight. I took down six in total, with five more to go until I realized I could speak to them like you could speak to horses. They told me that they weren't here to fight me, just to talk to me. When I agreed to listen, they called for another bird who was carrying David here." I pointed over to David, who was blushing a little at Percy's smile at him. "He told me he has one day away from Brent while that prick is off doing something, but he doesn't know what."

Dave cleared his throat, interrupting me. "Excuse me, but I do actually know what he's doing. I just wanted to tell everyone at the same time instead of telling the story over and over again." Dave took a deep, shaky breath. "Brent's out recruiting the minor gods to help him with his task. Not many of them are willing to help since the last battle, but he's still trying. There's more too. Apparently Kronus isn't the only person he's trying to revive. There's something else too. Something bigger and badder apparently."

A wave of fear crashed over each one of our faces. Someone bigger than Kronus? Was that even a possibility? I couldn't think of anything, so surely he must have been joking. But he wasn't. Dave's face remained stoned, unchanged at all. That was what worried me the most. "Wait, someone bigger than Kronus? Who?"

Dave shook his head. "I don't know. Brent hasn't told me yet, but as soon as I know, Ryan will be getting a dream message about it." The brunette looked over at Ryan, nodding. "I'm glad you've been getting those by the way, and sorry if they're unwanted."

Ryan shook his head, a small smile on his face as his arms laid wrapped around my neck. "No, they're fine. It's the only way we even have a clue about what Brent is doing. I just didn't like the one where you showed me Tammy. That one was hard to watch." He shuttered a little, and I knew why. Even though Tammy was a manipulating bitch, he obviously still felt bad for her.

Dave looked confused for a moment. "Wait, what dream about Tammy? I never sent you one of her." The boy scratched his head, but he had a slight look of fear on his face. "Tammy just arrived there the other day. She's being held captive right now, but she's fine if you were worried."

Ryan had a bittersweet look on his face. I could tell why though. He was happy that she wasn't hurt, but then again, he really didn't want to hear she was totally fine. It's just one of those confusing situations where no matter the answer, you don't want to hear it. "Thanks. I'm glad she's okay." He had a slight edge in his tone, but it wasn't that bad.

Annabeth and Percy had been holding hands and listening to the whole conversation with Jen just laying back in the van. She probably just didn't want to say something that would ruin the moment.

Annabeth frowned as she listened to the conversation, and I could tell she had something in her head. "Well, the only two things bigger than Kronus, and that's Gaea and Ouranos, the mother earth and the sky. Gaea is still asleep, so I don't think he'd be willing to wake her up, especially knowing how hard she is to contain, but Ouranos faded away years ago when Zeus was named ruler of the sky." She kept thinking, but quickly thought of something. "There's a book store right around the corner. I'll be right back. I must find a book on mythology." She ran down the side ally we were parked in and rounded the corner out of sight.

I laughed at her, mainly because her idea was never going to work. "How does she expect us to read a book? Each and every one of us are dyslexic." I ran my hands down Ryan's back slightly, reuniting our lips for another quick peck. Oh yeah, I was happy to be back to normal.

David checked around for a little bit before walking over to Percy and kissing his lips as well, holding onto the boy's waist as he did so. "I missed you so much. I hate being away like this, but it's the only way I can help the rest of you guys." He smiled up at Percy, his eyes full of happiness.

Percy just smirked and kissed the boy again, resting his arms on the boy's shoulders. "I know, and I've missed you too. I feel bad that you have to do this, and I don't want you to feel like you have to. If you ever want to come back home, just let us know." He fished out a drachma from his pocket and slipped it into the boy's. "You've got one Iris Message with that. Use it in an extreme emergency." Percy hugged the boy tightly, almost as if he didn't want to let go.

The sound of a book falling could be heard at the end of the ally, and Annabeth stood there with her eyes full of tears. She picked it back up and stormed over, now in a complete rage. "What the hell is going on Perseus Jackson? I just saw you kiss him?" You could hear the anger in her voice, but mostly it was hurt and confusion.

Everyone took a step back as they knew the fighting was about to begin. Percy looked like he was at a loss for words, and David looked like a scared child. "I, uh, well, you see…" Percy kept stumbling over his words, not knowing how to get what he needed to say out. Finally, he took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm bi Annabeth, and I care for both you and David very deeply." He wasn't helping himself with that statement, but that was probably the best anyone could really say.

David tried to step away, but Annabeth gave him the death glare. "You stay right there." she demanded, turning her attention back to her boyfriend. "How long have you been bisexual Percy? Because gods know how long you've been keeping that from me. I would have accepted you Percy, and hell, I still do, but this is how I have to find out? Seeing you kiss another boy. While we're supposedly dating." Annabeth was fuming, and nobody could blame her. She turned her attention towards me, for some reason her anger still there. "And now it makes sense that you and Landon have been in such good contact ever since we left camp last summer. What, are you and him running around too? I can't believe you'd do that to your own brother."

My whole body froze when she said those words. How did she know Percy and I have been in contact ever since they left? Percy must have told her, but why would she accuse me of cheating? "Annabeth, I don't know what you're getting at, but I would never," Slap! A hand smacked me clear across the face, stinging greatly. I moved my hand up to the violated skin, and when I turned my head back to see who it was, I was shocked to see it was Ryan who'd slapped me. He had taken a few steps back and was probably most offended person here. "What was that for?"

Ryan's eyes were full of tears, and I could tell he was about read to overflow. "I knew something was off with you, but I just couldn't place my finger on it. I still don't want to believe you'd cheat on me, but that would explain why you're always disappearing on me in the morning after you spend the night. I even heard you making an Iris Message one day in the bathroom to Percy, but I just assumed it was because you were friends with him. Please tell me she's wrong Landon, please." Tears had started streaming down his face, his lower lips quivering slightly.

I was in a really hard predicament right then. I couldn't tell Ryan why I was talking with Percy, but I couldn't lie and tell him I wasn't. It was a lose-lose situation. "I can't tell you why I've been talking to Percy, but I'm telling you right now that I'd never cheat on you. Why would you ever think that about me?" My anger itself was starting to rise. Why was he so doubtful of me? I had never done anything to show I was unfaithful, and I'd never been unfaithful.

Ryan's face told me everything though. He was hurt, and my heart broke seeing him like that. "I knew this was too good to be true. I mean, look at how we started off. Two people having sex after only knowing each other for maybe a week, tops. We had never gone out on a date, and I didn't even know you liked me until that day in the stables, which just happened to be the same day we had sex." He was literally breaking in front of me, and not in a good way at all. His body was shaking and tears just kept flowing from his eyes.

My hands ran through my light brown hair. Gods, why was this happening right now? I wasn't ready for this to happen, not yet. There was still too much to plan. "Ryan, what are you saying? Do you regret how we ended up together? Do you regret us even being together?" My anger was gone now, but it was replaced by fear. I didn't know what was going on in his head, but I didn't like the way he was talking.

Ryan took a shaky breath, shaking his head and looking me in the eyes. "I think I just… need some space right now. I just can't deal with this." He turned around and started walking towards the van, only he didn't stop.

He kept on going, and only then did I realize he was leaving. "Wait, no, don't go!" I yelled, trying to get his attention, but to no avail. He rounded the corner and was gone.

Percy, Annabeth, and David all stared at me in shock. A look of remorse on Annabeth's face told me she was sorry. "Landon, I,"

"Just shut it Annabeth. I can't believe you'd go accusing me of cheating with Percy. Just because he's bi and I'm gay doesn't mean we're going to be hooking up behind your back. Now look at what you've done! Ryan's gone." Tears were swelling up in my eyes now. My whole body ached in the bad way. My stomach was in knots. I felt like I was going to barf. "He just broke up with me. Now what am I supposed to do?"

Annabeth tried to walk closer to me, but I stepped back, shoving my hand into my pocket. The contents of it feeling much heavier than it actually was. Enosis, the bracelet Ryan gave me, burned against my fingers. I had put it in there to make sure I wouldn't lose it in the fight, but I never dreamed a piece of jewelry would hurt this bad. "Just, get away from me." I turned around, walking down the street in the opposite direction Ryan had. Ryan was right, we needed some time to think, and he did bring up some valid points. We didn't do things properly with our relationship. It started in reverse, which couldn't have been healthy. Maybe a break was exactly the right thing.

I could hear Percy and David running after me, but not Annabeth. She must have obviously gone the other way, after Ryan to try and catch up with him. Percy kept calling my name, trying to get me to stop, but I didn't, or more accurately, I couldn't. My body wouldn't stop moving.

Percy finally caught up to me, standing in my way and blocking me from moving any farther. "Hey, what are you doing? Ryan went the other way." He urged me, trying to turn me around to go after him. I knew Ryan better than that though. He wouldn't listen to me right now, just like I hadn't listened to him about the whole Tammy kiss incident back during summer.

I shook my head, looking up at Percy and letting the tears fall freely from my face. "I can't chase him Percy. Not this time. He needs to figure out on his own if he wants to be with me, and I'm not going to force him too." I walked around Percy as the two of them watched, not following after me. What I said was true. The choice was Ryan's whether or not he wanted to be with me. I would just have to wait and see what he chose to do.


	9. Chapter 8: Stuck In The City

**A/N: This has taken me forever to write. Since I last updated, the year had been an absolute living hell. I lost 4 people in my family from September to December, had college applications galore with school work piling up to my ears, and suffering from random fits of severe depression coupled with hospital visits. I've been working on this slowly but surely throughout these past couple months, but never had the time to finish the chapter. It's short, but important. I tried writing it in a different POV too, which was hard as all Hades for me and I will be going back to my style for the next chapter. I haven't decided what's going to happen in the next chapter either, so the time it should take me to write it will probably be longer than my past usual, but definitely not as long as this one. Knock on wood this year has started out better than last year ended, and I wrote the majority of this since 2012 started. Don't hate me, don't give up on me. I love you all so much for being loyal fans of the stories, and I hope to get some reviews, because I feel my writing has started to slip lately, and it's a big paranoia on my mind while I write.**

**Also, for people who have been wondering what I picture the cast of this series looking like, I am please to announce that I have found everyone's face. I don't know all of their faces, but I do know that these are the closest thing to faces I could find to the people in my head. I will be posting the link to the pictures on my page if I can figure out how haha.(Note: These are not my pictures.) ****Also Note, this is not my personal tumblr, so please do not follow it haha.**

**POV: Third Person-Percy/Dave Focus**

Percy just stood there as Landon left, in a bit of an awestruck state. He didn't know exactly what to do about the situation at hand. Should he follow after Landon, or should he chase after Annabeth and try to sort things out with her? He ran his pale fingers through dark brown hair, gripping and pulling at it lightly in an attempt to try and make sense of his dilemma. It didn't help much, and he wasn't sure of what to do now. He looked over at David for advice, not sure if he'd actually be able to get any. He just wanted to be told he didn't fuck up everything because he wanted to be spontaneous and act on his urges.

It seemed as though Dave knew what the boy wanted, moving closer to him and staring awkwardly up at the slightly taller boy. His features were a bit more alive and honest then they'd been a couple minutes ago, and he lifted one of his hands up to Percy's face, smiling softly. "Are you okay? This affected you just as much as it affected them."

Shifting slightly, Percy just shook his head. He didn't know how to feel, or what to feel at this moment in time. In some respect, it had been something he'd wanted; some time away from Annabeth so he could further explore things about himself; things that had been prevalently on his mind for quite some time now. "I just… what should I do Dave? I think I love Annabeth, but as of right now, this time apart will be good. I've been having these," he paused, contemplating whether or not to tell the other boy about his urges. Would it freak him out? The green eyed boy didn't know, so he just shrugged it off for now.

Dave seemed to listen to the boy with an almost unemotional face, which was good because it helped Percy feel better about what was going on his mind. He didn't want to be judged by everyone just because he'd made one stupid mistake. "You need to do what's best for you right now, not anyone else. Follow your heart for once, because when you do that, no matter what happens, you know you'll regret it less for at least trying." His face did falter however when Percy mentioned that he may be in love with Annabeth, and the green-eyed boy did notice that. "But please, tell me about these feelings. Is there anything really on your mind right now?"

With a slight movement and a dopey smirk on his face, Percy nodded his head. What Dave said made sense to him, and he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed that the light green eyed boy seemed to know him so well when he didn't even know himself. "I think that's a pretty good idea." He blushed a bit as the boy asked what feelings he was having, because if he was being honest, he didn't know if he wanted to admit them to the boy in front of him. "Well, I was thinking that maybe back when I said I preferred having sex with girls that I was wrong." His fingers trailed up the boy's arms, so slowly and softly that he felt goose bumps forming underneath the tips. "Maybe's it's pretty even actually."

Dave seemed to shutter underneath Percy's touch, making the taller smirk and lean in a bit closer to him. It dawned on Dave as he looked up at the green eyed boy with a sort of shocked look, but the shock was in a good way. He hadn't been expecting this, that's for sure. "Well, that's always a good thing to want to figure out. Is there any way I could help you with this dilemma?" The leaf eyed boy was timid and fragile from his time spent with Brent, so he knew to always question things first before

"I thought you'd never ask." Percy said, leaning in again and pressing his lips softly onto Dave's. This had been exactly what he'd missed. The soft, musky scent that emanated from another man's body wafting up his nose. The sturdy yet soft body beneath him in a completely different figure than what he'd been use to with Annabeth. He had needed this more than he thought he did.

Dave leaned into the kiss, his whole body tingling in happiness. This was different from those times Brent had forced him into a kiss, but then again, it didn't hurt him as much when he watched Brent kiss some random girl he brought back to the mountain either. It was all about Percy it seemed.

He pulled away slowly though, giving the boy a soft smile as he shook his head. "We've got some work to do first Percy. Pick, Annabeth, Ryan, or Landon." His voice was soft, but still certain. He wanted to fix what had happened earlier, and he also wanted some answers. His brain needed them right now, because after what he had heard, it just sounded like Landon was pulling excuses out of his ass to make the situation sound better.

Percy groaned and frowned, really not wanting to go fix any problems right now except one, but from the tone Dave had, he was fairly certain this was more important. "I say we go fix Lan first. He'll be easiest, and I already know what's wrong there."

Dave nodded his head. "Let's go then."

He took Percy's hand and began pulling him towards the direction Landon had gone, but from there he had no idea where to go. He'd never been allowed to roam New York City before, and to top it all off, the boy had left over ten minutes ago, so he was probably long gone by now.

Percy seemed to pick up on the boy's thoughts, giving Dave's hand a tight squeeze. "We'll find him. He headed towards Central Park anyways, so that's probably where he's going." he said reassuringly.

"Okay, makes sense to me." Dave smiled, feeling a bit more secure in what they were doing now. The only problem was, and it really wasn't a problem, more like an awkwardness, was that he was holding Percy's hand as they walked through New York's busy streets. People were glaring at them, and not to mention what happened if Annabeth saw them. That would just be… awkward as all Hades. But she was off finding Ryan, probably having some quality bonding time with the boy as they vented about how their boyfriends were unfaithful, which made Dave sick to his stomach. He didn't want to be _the other man_, but it just sort of happened, much to his surprise.

They swerved in and out of people's way as they made their way to the fairly large park only a couple blocks from where they were. Central Park, one of the places Dave had wanted to see for the longest time but hadn't actually been able to go visit it because of his father being an asshole. It looked marvelous in the light coating of snow, which reflected the setting sun's light perfectly over the entire sight. It would be a very romantic situation, if the circumstances weren't different. He just sighed, darting across the street with Percy to the entrance.

Percy tried not to focus too much on the situation at hand. He just wanted to get this conversation with Landon over so that he and Dave could have some private time. They'd go find Annabeth and Ryan later, because at least the two of them would be safe together. Plus they had Jen with them, so they'd be fine, he hoped. The only problem that could arise was if the girls convinced Ryan to keep away from Landon, because fuck, that would mess up the plans completely.

They entered the park, Dave leading the way, and began searching through the many different pathways that existed inside the slightly wooded area. This probably wouldn't be easy, so he'd just keep looking around at keeping conversation going with him and Percy, to try and pass the awkward silence away. "So, do you have any ideas what exactly we're gonna say to Landon once we find him?"

"I… honestly have no idea." Percy said softly, a bit of disappointment in his tone. Usually he was the leader, the one with all the answers, but when he was basically the reason for all the drama that had unfolded, well, he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"Oh… well, I'm sure we'll think of something." Dave was trying to be optimistic, but it wasn't working out too well. Percy didn't sound like himself, and the way things went back there, it seemed as though nothing would be fixed rather easily.

They continued walking through the paths, searching high and low for any signs of the boy that had eluded them. There were none though, and the two had just about searched the entire park by the time they decided to give up. They'd been at it for a couple hours now too, and still no sign of the dirty blonde, until the sun was just setting. It cast this eerie glow about the park, making this one patch of trees twinkle a bit. For some reason, Dave and Percy both felt obliged to check it out, almost as if the sparkles were drawing them to it.

As they walked through the path, it almost felt like stepping through Jell-O. The air was thick and heavy all around for a couple seconds, but once inside, it was calm and normal, just like before. Looking back, the trees still had that eerie glow to them, only the sparkles were gone now. Funny, it seemed as though they were only used to lure people in here, not make them want to leave.

When they looked around inside, it wasn't as you'd expect it to be. There was a fairly large mausoleum or temple type thing, surrounded by an amazing garden full of light blue and white roses, things that shouldn't normally exist.

Percy took a step, then looked down and almost had a heart attack. The ground was gone, covered in a thick layer of fog. His foot sunk into the cloud, almost swallowing it but sturdy enough to hold him up. He couldn't feel anything beneath his feet, but he wasn't falling down anymore. "Holy Hades." The sky rumbled as he said that, signaling that maybe it wasn't the best thing to bring up that god's name here. "Holy Zeus?" The rumbling died down a bit, and Percy looked over at Dave, sighing a bit.

Looking over at the monument, he noticed that there were lightning bolts engraved on the pillars, and a monument of an eagle was resting on the top of it. Putting things together, he figured out who this monument was made for. "Wow, quite the impressive building." The sea demigod said, looking over at the boy next to him, jaw slightly hung open. "Zeus' has his own private temple of worship in the middle of central park?"

David just shook his head, snapping back to reality and nodding in agreement. "I guess so. It's… rather impressive I must say." He looked down, noticing that his and Percy's hands were intertwined rather tightly. His face got hotter upon noticing, clearing his throat slightly and running his thumb across the top of the sea child's hand. "You okay?"

Percy took a deep breath, smiling once he looked at the leaf eyed boy next to him. "Yeah, I'm okay now." Perking his ears, he heard crying, or what he thought was crying, coming from the temple. Knowing that Dave was hearing the same thing, he slowly began walking through the clouds to the temple, gaining a bit more relaxation when they were standing on something solid. The crying got louder as the two made it closer to the temple, and as they pushed the large, golden gilded doors open, noticed a body curled up in a ball at the alter. He was sobbing, his face was covered in his knees, but his dirty blonde hair made it obvious to who it was.

Percy, letting go of David's hand, ran over to the boy and knelt down in front of him. "Landon. Landon please stop crying." He knew his efforts were futile though, because the boy had something that not even Apollo could cure; a broken heart.

The boy wouldn't even show his face, rubbing his face on his knees and holding them close to his chest. "I… I don't k… know what to d… do. He… he's gone." His voice was raspy and weak, barely above a whisper. Overall, he sounded horrible, in any and every interpretation of the word.

Percy just stared at the boy, unable to for a sentence to make him feel better. "You know he loves you though. He's just hurt." There was nothing more he could say about the situation, and he was worried that it wouldn't be enough. "And your plan, don't give up on it, please."

David's ears perked up at the mention of a plan, looking between the two with a bit of a confused look.

"Bu… but it's not goo… good enough." His sobbing wasn't slowing down yet, but at least he was able to form sentences better. "And th… that plan won… won't work anymore." His hands reached into his pocket, feeling for something Percy knew about, yet David didn't.

"What plan are we talking about here?" David asked, running his hands through his dark brown hair. There really was something going on between Percy and Landon that nobody knew about. Holy fuck, Annabeth was right all along, but what exactly the plan was only they knew. It didn't seem like something horrible though, more like something helpful, making the leaf eyed boy even more curious.

Landon just shook his head, pulling out the bracelet from his pocket and setting it down on the alter steps. He looked broken and defeated, a combination neither boy had ever seen on the dirty blonde haired male. "I can't do it anymore. I don't want to do it anymore. I can't chase after someone who's mad at me for not knowing a secret." He wiped his eyes, taking a shaky step past the two flabbergasted individuals and leaving the temple.

David looked at Percy with a questioning look. With a nod of the head, David knew exactly what they needed to do; split up and talk to the both of them. But which one would they take? It seemed a bit obvious to him; he'd take Landon while Percy talked to Ryan. They were brothers after all, so if anyone had a chance of breaking through to the most likely sobbing boy, it was Percy. "I got Landon. You go take care of Ryan."

Percy nodded, knowing it was time for him to dart out. Unexpectedly, he leaned in and pecked David on the lips, then smiling. "We got this, don't worry." And with that, he darted off out the temple off towards somewhere, anywhere, the only idea in mind on how to start revolving around a little golden coin settling in his pocket.

David sighed, looking back at the bracelet on the alter steps. He knew he had to bring it back to Landon, there was no doubt about that. Stepping closer to the band, he picked it up and examined it closely. It was truly gorgeous, the stark white and the sea blue meshing perfectly together in some odd dance of colors.

Shoving it in his pocket, he knew it was time to go. He darted out the door after the dirty blonde boy, not realizing what had happened right before. When he picked up the bracelet, something had fallen, something very important. A ring had been tangled up with the other piece of jewelry, and had fallen when the bracelet was picked up. It had a diamond and a sapphire on it, with a soft white gold band. It was the other half of the godly jewelry; Gamos.

As the ring laid there, a shadow loomed overhead, leaning down and picking up the small piece of jewelry. A woman, gorgeous and powerful, held the tiny thing in her hand, a daunting smile on her face. "Well now, this was unexpected to find." Her voice was soft, motherly almost. She slipped the ring into her pocket, her face an unreadable mixture of emotions, yet none of them showed. The only thing that distinguished her was the peacock broach she wore above her right breast where her heart was. The woman was Hera, and she now had the ring.


	10. Chapter 9: Departure

**AN: Welp, I did it. I finally managed to complete this chapter, and what a hell of a long time it took me to do. I finally found out where I want to go with this and how it's going to play out. If you're still patient enough with me to keep following this story and my characters, you'll be happy to know they're getting more depth! Lots of practice and tumblr rping has given me the ability to finally see how flat my characters were turning out to be. I hope this was worth the wait. Dear gods I hope it was. I'm going to update again in August at least once more before I head off to college. If anyone reading this is going to Le Moyne college this August, you'll be happy to know I'm going there too! Well, enjoy. **

**Oh, and by the way, those links on my page finally work. Now you can view the cast, though lately I'm thinking about going in and changing a few of them, particularly Ryan and Landon. The rest are perfect, but Ryan's and Landon's faces will probably end up changed. Just keep an eye out darlings :D.**

My eyes hurt, but not just from the tears that were welling up underneath the soft and permeable lids that protected them. No, they hurt because those tears mixed with the blistering December cold was a sensation that my body wasn't used to and of course, didn't want to adjust to. That only made my mood go down from the already record low it had been at for the holiday season.

It was sad really. A young boy like myself traveling around New York City, alone, the day or two days after Christmas, a breakup being the most prevalent thing on his mind. It wasn't something I had planned on doing really, but hell, I wasn't opposed to the idea. Not now.

I'd heard stories about what I should be careful about and what I should avoid when it came to roaming around these giant pillars of concrete and steel, but right now, my brain was too foggy and too fucked up to even consider the thought of using rational and dare I say logical thinking patterns. Could I blame it? After all, my whole world was just turned upside down. I pushed the thought down though, trying to not have one in general as my brain tried to grasp the reality of the situation. I wouldn't let it though. I didn't want to accept it myself.

People were calling after me, yelling for me to slow down, to take a second to talk about some meaningless and trivial product they were trying to sell. At least, I thought someone was coming after me, but when I looked back, nobody was there but an array of measly merchants, venders, and vagabonds. Pity, I thought someone would try to find me - someone with sky blue eyes, hair the color of sun-kissed chocolate bar, and a smile that could warm the frozen tears that were trying desperately to fall down my paled cheeks that seemed to glimmer like the sun on freshly fallen snow in the middle of the day. I thought that would be happening right now, not this. Not… nothing.

I'm pretty sure someone in my frantic and sporadic turning propositioned me for a night on the town, their smile a bit sleazy and grimy compared to the people I was used to. I had half a mind to accept that offer though, but I couldn't do that. I was on a mission; a quest with my friends. That was more important, so maybe another time I told the man, the smile on my face as fake as a snowfall in July. There was a god of lies, right? Well, I guess that was me giving them praise for existing.

My mind was only on one thought though - finding somewhere to collect myself and let the shock my body had just gone through simmer down to a meaningless tremble. There were too many options about where to go though - the most obvious being back at the van with Jennifer, and the most obscure being the Hudson bay fifteen blocks from where I was. Maybe that was the best option, actually. The water always seemed to help me think anyways, even if the Hudson itself wasn't the most cleanliest of places.

I thought of Amphitrite then and her oceanic self swimming to the bay and snatching me, and needless to say that crazed step momster was not someone I planned on dealing with right now. Who knows, I might actually find a way to kill a god, given the right motivation. I'd always wondered what Ichor looked like.

That thought actually made me laugh a bit as the pace to which I took my steps increased, people blurring into mindless zombies, going in and out of shops to return damaged, unwanted, or even ungrateful presents they'd received the night or two before. I couldn't even remember when Christmas itself was, and I didn't care to know either.

"Nothing but a bunch of fucking little ungrateful pricks." I muttered to myself, hands shoved in the cloth pockets of my long, black pea coat. It was a nice fit too, a present from my dad. He said it was something my mom always wanted me to have - a nice coat so that I wouldn't freeze to death when I'd stay over at Camp. Well, at least it's good for something after all. Merry fucking Christmas from a father who only relied on me when he needed me most.

I realized a bit too late that my tone and word choice was a bit less than chipper and jolly considering the holidays were still technically in full swing. Christmas was the time of joy, and the week from Christmas Eve to New Years Day was just full of those good feelings. I couldn't let myself, and my mood, ruin what was supposed to be the best days of my life, even if a certain demigod of the sky was a no good cheating asshole.

There I went again thinking negatively of someone who probably had a valid explanation that I just didn't want to hear right now. It's sad though, because deep down, I wanted to listen and believe. My body just reacted naturally, at least as natural as it could in that given situation. I guess maybe I found my fatal flaw; hubris. I couldn't accept the fact that maybe he had an excuse, and that maybe it was all a lie. My pride needed to get me out of there before I turned into a blubbering buffoon.

I didn't like cheaters very well, and still don't, but I guess it's my luck that I ended up with one. My mom hooked up with one after she had me and dad was nowhere to be found, and he wasn't the best person in the world. No best step dad mug for him. I hope he fried for when he'd hit my mother, for all those times I hated having him alone with her while I was at camp, but she refused to let me stay, refused to let me protect her. She didn't want me to do anything about it, saying it wasn't my place to worry about her like that. Like hell it wasn't my place. She just didn't want me to kill him myself, which I can respect. Doesn't mean I didn't fight her on it though.

"Jesus, Ryan. Calm down why don't you? You're going to end up exploding the closest sewer if you keep this up." I had to laugh as I walked down some random street talking to myself, now seeing the van in sight. I guess my legs unconsciously took me back there. At least Jennifer was someone I could talk to, even if she'd probably badger me about what happened. She cared in her own way, and she was family after all.

Just then, a figure stepped in front of me out of nowhere, and I accidentally bumped into her and that… peacock broach? Okay, that was tacky, but why did that seem familiar. "My apologizes, ma'am." I said, putting on a smile that was less than my usual, but thankfully this woman didn't know that.

She smiled a smile that gave me chills down my spine, and not because of the cold. It was regal, powerful, but most of all ominous like she had something up her sleeve just for me. "No, no. It's okay, sweetie. I was just on my way to visit my husband at work. We all know how the holiday rush can get for retail people, especially big bossing like him. After all, I found the most adorable bracelet earlier that I was just dying to show him. Glad he doesn't sell jewelry though, otherwise I'd be in danger" Her tone itself was as powerful as her aura - one that I just couldn't wrap my brain around.

Why did she feel so familiar, yet so dangerous?

"Oh, then my apologies increase, miss. Please, go to your husband." Little did I know this woman was going off to see the man that seemed to have a large distrust for me, and a certain distaste for Landon himself. The thought didn't even cross my mind, especially since she was wearing jewelry that was odd yet stylish for her - minus the tacky peacock broach. I figured a bracelet was just another accessory she'd wear to adorn her image. Nothing more, nothing less.

She tilted her head to the side as her gaze of me turned to one of confusion, and almost shock. "You're more pleasurable that others of your type," she started, then figured she had to add something by the look on her face, "Teenagers I mean. Usually the lot of you are nothing more than obnoxious little hooligans who do nothing more that ride those skateboards around the streets to annoy us. You're decent, so for that, I'll give you a treat." She reached into her pocket and pulled out… a cloth? "I think you'll figure out what to use it for when the time comes." And with that, she walked away, with the most awkward sway in her hips that I'd ever seen.

For a second, my mind was more confused than before. What the fuck was that, who was that crazy bitch, and why did I now have a hankie that was monogrammed ZHO? I was half tempted to drop the cloth on the ground and walk away, but I knew better than to do that for some reason. This piece of fabric felt powerful and useful all at the same time, which was unusual for something so average other than the monograms. I shoved it into my pocket, figuring at least if I need to blow my nose I had this woman's rag to do so. Maybe she knew deep down I was going to end up crying later and spared me the idea of finding a tissue.

Jennifer was peering out the window at me, her chocolate brown skin dawned with the largest of smiles on her face, and her curly black hair framing her face beautifully. She opened the door, patting the seat next to her with a look that almost read like she knew what was going on already. Maybe someone had messaged her and told her that the quest was on temporary hold until shit got fixed or something like that. At this point I didn't even care, and it looked like neither did she. Right now, she was going to be the big sister I needed, even if technically I was older than her.

"Hey." I said softly as my body climbed into the van, resting my head on her shoulder. There wasn't even a second thought in my mind about doing that, since this was something we'd done frequently in the past few weeks we'd known each other. She was different than Percy in a lot of respects. She seemed to understand me a bit more than he did. He was too boyish.

Her arms wrapped tightly around my frame, which would have looked odd if anyone was watching us since usually a girl doesn't hold onto a boy like this. Oh well, I guess technically we weren't average boys and girls here, even if you take out the demigod in us.

"Tell me what happened, darling." Her voice was so soft and warm that I couldn't help but let my guard down, and with that, a few tears from my eyes. She wiped the tears from my eyes though, her cheek pressed against my forehead.

It took me a couple seconds before I managed to muster up enough composure to speak without sounding too crackly. "I don't know. I just left when I assumed." Truth be told, I should have given due process to Landon. He earned at least that as my boyfriend after all. "Landon and Percy were having secret conversations. Annabeth thought they were cheating with each other when she saw him kiss David." I started rambling on and on about nonsense that she seemed to know all about, and as much as I wanted to be angry for wasting time, I knew why she was doing it. She was letting me get it out, and I really couldn't have thanked her enough for this.

When I finished, she was smiling softly and reassuringly down at me. "While I do think in your position you made a rash decision based on what you knew, I probably would have done the same thing." She chuckled softly, which was at least somewhat comforting. "However, I'm going to tell you that Landon wasn't cheating on you, idiot." She flicked the back of my head, and I knew I was getting off easy. "He was planning something special for you for your birthday in a few months. Almost everyone in our little group knew about it, aside from you and obviously Annabeth. I bet she's being told now though, and feeling like at least half an ass if it helps."

It did, but I didn't want to admit it.

My mind was more focused on the something special surprise that Landon was planning for me, and the fact that I A) accused my boyfriend of cheating and B) slapped in and ran away. Smooth move, idiot was probably the best thing anyone could have told me, as well as slapped me once for good measure.

"I probably fucked up a lot of things." I admitted softly, reaching up and wiping my eyes with my hands, completely forgetting the cloth in my pocket.

Her smile was obviously in agreement with my statement, which didn't help in one respect, but at least it proved I was thinking clearly. "Ryan, let me give you some advice." She said softly, sitting me up straight and making me want to look at her eyes. "You don't need a boy to make you happy, and you shouldn't be with one until you can realize that for yourself. You and Landon, yeah, everyone loved you guys together. It was obvious you two were the it couple out there to beat out Percy and Annabeth, but you seemed too attached to him. It's time to take a step back and figure out who is Ryan Pavid. Only then will you be strong enough to go back into a relationship."

Her words cut like a knife through warm butter, and everything she said was completely and utterly true. Over the past 8 ish months, I had developed and almost unhealthy addiction to my boyfriend that I'd only known for just that, 8 months. We'd slept together before actually dating. Everything we did, we did it backwards. It was almost like this breakup was my chance at redemption, at growing up and proving that I was ready for a mature relationship. Yes, it would help Landon grow too, and hopefully it would be long enough for him to find another. "When did you turn into Rachel?" I teased softly, remembering the spitfire from back home who seemed to be rattling off mini prophesies about who'd find the lost satyr in the woods or some other meaningless task.

Jen just laughed, pulling me closer for a snap second and sighing. "It's called relationships. They suck worse than Byzantine leeches at times, and you learn to cope with them as they come and go." Her thumb started brushing the side of my face, very similar to how my mother would do when I'd have a nightmare.

For a split second, I let my mind return to one of those memories, focusing on the face of my mother - her full cheeks that resembled seashells and her short figure that my father whenever he stopped by would claim she looked like a piece of coral with a shell on top. At that time I figured it was a compliment, and to this day I still do. I guess that would be one when your father rules the oceans.

"I don't know what I'd do without your right now." That was a lie. I'd probably be down at the Hudson bay, dipping my feet in the water and waiting patiently for Amphitrite to try and take me. I liked this option better.

There was a knock on the window, and a familiar blonde headed girl with a sad expression on her face opened the door. "I, um…" she began, but it was obvious that Annabeth wasn't good with words of apologizes. Taunts were more her thing. "Sorry I kind of blew everything out of the water." She said, rubbing the back of her neck and taking her blonde ponytail into her hands. Watching her suffer didn't help me one bit when it was right in front of my face.

"No, it's fine." I lied, pretty effortlessly too which was surprising. Usually my lies were so obvious even a child could tell.

Her face turned pained, the tears welling up in her eyes trying their hardest to come out, but Annabeth was a strong girl. She'd never let them fall. Not in front of us at least. "I just can't lose him, Ryan." She admitted in almost a whisper that almost sounded like she hadn't meant to say it at all, and her melancholy swaying from side to side as she stood outside the van was even starting to make ME seasick. "I've already had to bury Luke, lose Thalia twice, watch my friends die for Olympus, and lose my father when he moved away. I can't lose him, Ryan. He's all I have left."

Her words cut through me as if they were laced with lemon juice and salt. I had put the thought in Percy's head to test out his relationship with boys if he felt off. I had convinced him of his thoughts. I had inadvertently taken away the thing Annabeth felt most precious for.

And then she had done it to me. If there was a god of karma, he or she must have been working in overtime today too for all this to happen. Karma, lying. Looks like the gods weren't on my side.

"You're not going to lose anyone, Annabeth." I said reassuringly, knowing that was probably a promise I could never keep. I felt obligated to say it though for being the cause of all this discourse happening. If Landon and I could have kept our big mouths shut, then maybe Percy wouldn't have done that. Maybe he'd be here, kissing Annabeth right now, and maybe Landon would be here too.

This whole day just seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Her eyes looked up at me with some false hope in them - something she knew she probably shouldn't count on but did nonetheless. "Thanks, Ryan." She said softly, reaching up with her shirt to wipe the tears from her eyes so that none of them fell. A proud girl was Annabeth, something I both feared and respected. She'd play out to be a more valuable asset to this quest than I originally thought - which also meant I'd need to keep a closer eye on her.

"Annabeth, did you ever find a book that might explain who or what Brent is trying to bring back to life if it's not Kronus?" I figured that was a valid conversation starter. Hell, at least it was something to get our minds off the present situation.

Excitement flooded her face at that, then fell away as soon as she remembered what happened. "The books are back in that alleyway. I couldn't tell you where they were or if they're still there." She sounded honestly disappointed by that, and who could blame her. From the sounds of it, there was something important in that book.

Luckily for her, I remembered how to get there. "Just stay here. I'll be back before you know it with the book." My legs extended out of the van with a few cracks - a bit stiff since I hadn't walked in a who knows how long while curled up in a ball. Just four blocks over, round two corners after that, and bam, that alleyway. I remembered it because of the distinct smell of slightly salted water emanating from the sewers.

Jen moved and let me out completely, and Annabeth was giving me a look that was almost apologetic again, like she'd completely fucked up and she knew it. I couldn't bare to see her like this. "Seriously, Anna, don't beat yourself up over this. Landon and I needed a break after all. You know, too close to each other." I gave her the best smile I could muster up, which wasn't much of anything compared to what I knew my usual was. My cheeks didn't even hurt from it, that's how I knew. "And I'll knock some sense into Percy for you." _If it's the last thing I do_. I wasn't going to let my own faults get in the way of someone who was happy.

Her smile broke my heart, because she believed me. She believed the words of a no good dirty rotten asshole who was to blame for this in the first place. Great. "Thank you." She said, wrapping her arms tightly around my body to the point of almost strangulation.

I didn't want to stay any longer. Her presence gave me chills and waves of regret that I couldn't cope with right now. Sure, it might sound juvenile to say that I couldn't handle when things were my fault, and right now, everything seemed like that. I almost felt like I was going insane.

My legs - thank the gods - knew where to take me, because my mind was not focused on my location. It was busy searching for a solution to my problems. We had David, but for who knows how long. That situation was tricky alone because he was our in when it came to what was happening with Brent, so we wanted to make sure he was happy. Not to mention who knows what he's going through living with that bastard who seems to be going crazier and crazier each time they see visions of him. Basically, it was going to end up where one of my friends - both extremely valuable and meaningful to me - was going to get hurt. That alone wasn't my choice thankfully, but I pitied Percy for having to make it. There was no way it was going to be easy.

The bag of books were still there when I arrived, as was an unexpected surprise. Two people - one male and one female - stood there. She had long, brown colored hair with piercing eyes the color of the sky. He had a mix color of hair, and eyes full of a contradiction of life and death. Cat and Jeremy, but why?

"Guys, how did you know…" My mind was too focused on the fact that it was physically impossible for them to be here now. Their faces just filled me up with joy - so much joy that I was barreling at them to the point where I almost fell down.

Cat held up her arms, signaling for me to slow down, and I did just before I was going to run into her. "Don't touch us!" She yelled, and at that moment I noticed her voice sounded off; like she was speaking into one of those old telephones I used to have.

Jeremy nodded, hands in his pockets and a slightly more matured look on his face. Since hanging around with Nico, he'd aged a lot, and it suited him. "We have a message for you, Ryan. It's, um, not a very good one." His face turned grim, and my whole body shivered. Oh great, more bad news? What could it possibly be this time.

Unconsciously I sighed at that, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Alright, just tell me." I wasn't going to fill them in on Landon and I just yet. I'll leave that part for another time.

Cat ran her fingers through her hair, an old habit she had from way back when. "Another prophecy has just been told. Chiron says it's rivaled with the Prophecy of Seven they're currently trying to decode." Another prophecy? So this day could get worse. "What's it say? Does it have anything to do with me?" That sounded selfish, but I had a gut feeling they wouldn't be here if it didn't.

My question was answered pretty quickly with a nod from Jeremy. "I don't remember it completely. Something about the seven of the past and Geminis and some shit like that. When we know more, we'll let you know." He tapped his finger to his lips. "Oh, and they said a son of the water would drown or wash the Earth."

That part caught my attention as I was leaning down to pick up the bag of books. "A child of the water? I can see why you're calling me." I was the only son of Poseidon who fit the bill. Jen was a girl, and Percy wasn't a son of the past. I had a sneaking suspicion that meant one who was in the wrong time period. "Anyways, how are you guys here?" I'd save the chat about prophecies for another time; preferably one on a day that wasn't already full of bullshit.

Cat smirked. "Iris Messaging got face time." She teased, spinning around. "She invented holograms. Aren't they neat?" She stopped spinning just in time to yell, "Watch out!" but it was too late.

There was a thud, and I went blank.

Something rang in the back of my head; a voice. It was calling to me, giving my head the most irritating of migraines. It was calling not just for my name though. It wanted something else; my blood. What could it be though?

_Pavid. You've stolen from us for far too long._ It called out, like serpents with a lisp. It was quite comical, if not for the ready-to-drink-my-blood part. _You'll pay, Pavid. Just you wait._

Needless to say, I planned on waiting far longer than they probably intended. Whatever or whoever was after me now, they didn't sound happy with me stealing something. I'd apologize to them, but somehow I didn't think that'd make them like me any better.

"Ryan." Annabeth called out, tapping my shoulder and rousing me from my daze. How long had I blacked out? "Come on. We've got to go." When I opened my eyes, it was like some sort of miracle. I was back in the van, it was dark outside, and everyone was here.

A soft and needing groan left my lips, and from the corner of my eye Landon looked like he wanted to reach over and give me a hug. Part of me wished I would let him in, but I didn't want him to know I'd forgiven him. Not yet. I needed to find out what type of person I was on my own before that happened again. "What happened?"

That seemed like a logical place to start.

Jen sighed, pulling me close to her and rubbing the side of my face with her thumb. "Percy found you on the ground about four hours after you left. Landon had already come back when Percy carried you here. You must have passed out or something."

I knew I didn't pass out. There was no way in hell Cat would have screamed to me if I had just passed out, but I didn't want to worry the team about that. My main question was why had they left me there? Again, something I needed to know. Today just sucked.

"Where to now?" Percy said, figuring that it was time to get back to business. We all knew it would take us all night to get to Cleveland if we drove, so I had a feeling Percy already knew where to go. From the smirk on his face, he knew what to do too.

"The train station." I said weakly, still tired. "We're ordering five tickets to Cleveland overnight."


End file.
